This poem has been published in collaboration with Revival Disability Magazine.
My crippled body can’t control my heart.
I wish it could,
but know for a fact that it can’t.
There are so many battles
that we need to fight
just to survive.
but that doesn’t take away the dreams of wanting more from life.
I’m glad that places are accessible to my wheelchair;
thankful that policies exist to ensure my life runs smoothly.
I am truly grateful for a lot of things.
Despite most eyes looking at me with sympathy
I pass through life with a beaming smile.
I see people and places,
Couples and crushes
I hear giggles and whispers.
These are the secrets untold to me.
For love in the form of care,
I can receive in abundance.
But a romantic love?
It is just lacking for me.
I wish my heart understood,
the plight of my crippled body
But who made these rules?
They are not for everybody.
I look at couples,
I watch them dance.
I wish for love,
not just care but also romance.
For the heart wants what it wants
no matter whose heart it is.
Love belongs to me too,
and also to my body.
I look in the mirror,
and reclaim with pride.
Love is not just an ableist paradise.
For love belongs to me too.
For love belongs to me too.
