A Poem I Wrote in HS, circa 1980..........

Happiness is not in what you see,

Bur in what you perceive.

I can see what others with sight

Cannot.

I can hear what those with hearing

Cannot.

I can feel with more depth and

Understanding than people

With all of their senses.

My pleasure is derived from

Just being alive.

People pitied me.

They thought that I was afraid,

Unteachable, unreachable.

I could not tell them that I

Did not need or want their pity.

All I needed was understanding

And patience.

I was not afraid.

I have the courage to want to

Learn and grow.

I accepted the challenge of my situation with grace and dignity.

Those who pitied me where more

Pitiful than I.

I was content in my peaceful world.

I had no use for confusion or

Noise.

My life was not simple.

I had to work hard and constantly

To maintain it.

This made my life all the more

Precious to me.

I took nothing for granted.

There was no bitterness or anger

Or self-pity.

There was no time.

My life was short, but I lived

As much in that short time as most

People live in an entire lifetime.

Death was no threat to me.

I was used to darkness and silence.

There was no fear.

I was merely slipping further into

My own world.

I no longer has to contend with the

Pity, the stares, the wasted tears.

I was alone to enjoy my life in

Peaceful contentment.