OUR DEAFNESS

We cannot hear anything at all,
Because we are deaf.

Cannot hear voices,
We only see their mouths moving.
Cannot hear our own voices,
We only feel it in our throats.
Cannot hear laughter,
We only see it in their faces.

Cannot hear the sound of playing,
We only see other people play.
Cannot hear the screams,
We only see their mouths open
or the startled reactions of people
around them.

Cannot hear weeping,
We only see their tearstained cheeks.
Cannot hear the scolding,
We only see it in their scowling faces and fingers shaking up
and down in our faces.

Cannot hear love and peace in voices of beloved ones,
We only see love and peace in their faces.

Cannot hear our names being announced,
We only know if our friends, family, or interpreters inform us.

Cannot hear the beat of music,
We only feel the vibrations.

Cannot hear wind whistling through leaves on the trees,
We only see the leaves moving and the trees swaying.

Cannot hear the oceans; waves beating upon shores,
We only see them crashing forward, then retreating.

Cannot hear the footsteps in the darkness,
We only feel them.

Cannot hear the hum of machines around us,
We only feel them when we place our hands upon them.

Cannot hear the televisions,
We only read the words on the screen
with the help of closed captions.

Cannot hear the sounds the seasons bring to us,
We only see the changes the seasons bring to us.

The list can only be endless.
Hearing people's world is filled with sounds.

Our world is filled with sights and vibrations.
hey think we are missing out on the sounds.

We think they are missing out on the sights and vibrations;
They take them for granted.

We will never hear even if hearing people put their mouths to our ears
and scream down into them.

But we can hear one golden sound very well - SILENCE.

by Kimberly Dianne Richards