To All Who Stare!

#Poetry. The poet speaks of a special child, a loved daughter who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, whom everyone stares at when they are out in public. 

On seeing a lovely young girl yesterday, having lunch with her mom, and being stared at by everyone around. Being reminded of a cousin with Cerebral Palsy and the stares he would get.

She woke up early this Friday.
When are we going, when are we going?
I had promised to take her out for a movie and a lunch
When are we going, when are we going?

I took her for a movie,
And then for the lunch
Look Ma, everyone is looking at me
Don’t I look lovely! She said

Yes, lovely she is.
My daughter of eighteen.
Prettiest girl I ever saw
Prettiest that could have been.

”Yes, they are looking, my dear
Wondering who the girl is”
My heart stifled a sob
Cos I knew what the truth is

They don’t see her,
Not her lovely eyes,
Her lovely hair do
Or her beautiful smile.

Never miss real stories from India's women.

Register Now

How she is trying
Carefully, not to drop
A drop of soup on her lovely new top
How she eats with such grace
And every now n then wipes her face

All they see is the eight year old
Trapped inside the body of my eighteen year old
They see her as an animal
Caged in a zoo
They whisper to each other, so others stare too
They focus on how she holds her spoon,
On what she is saying
And how she would talk
I feel the eyes burning,
They stare at her walker
And then stare at her walk.

While my daughter
Is happy with the looks.
She has a twinkle in her eye
And a child within.
And she asks me again,
Look Ma, everyone is looking

Aren’t I lovely!

Image is a screen grab from Margarita With A Straw.

Comments