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I saw her again today.
It’s nothing obvious;
You wouldn’t even notice her
Disability.

The word itself is so
Frightening
Intimidating
Empowering.

She looks normal enough:
Long black hair,
White running shoes
And fashionable sunglasses.

But then your eyes will travel to her side and see
The long cane in her hand
And the way it moves
So carefully, and yet so
F e a r l e s s l y.

With each step she will be
Thrust into the unknown,
A maze of darkness
And she can’t just
Find her way out.

But she won’t give up
Not even when she stumbles,
Or when children trip her,
Or business men push past.
Each time she will
Get back up and
Face the world
With her chin held high
And her hand resting proudly
On the instrument that so many use as her
I d e n t i t y.

But she’s more than just the
Girl with the cane;
She’s an artist,
A writer,
A sculptor:
A soldier.

I look at her and see
Courage at its finest;
Others can’t see past the
Stigma that surrounds her
Disability.
Still others refuse to see her as even a
Person.

So then again,
Maybe it’s a good thing that
She can’t see at all.

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