It is okay to love yourself without judgment.  Love doesn’t judge. You don’t deserve judgment and pain from the one you are desperately in love with. This is not love. That is fear. Love yourself fully. Love yourself until you are overflowing with it. Love yourself speaking imperfectly. Love yourself stumbling through ASL. Love yourself Deaf. Love yourself pre-cochlear implant, during cochlear implant and when it breaks on you. Love [...]

  All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.
–George Bernard Shaw Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what [...]

  Dissolving window bars with its clowning, The feathery leaves and branches dance through winter and summer Hosts birds and squirrels decked with red berries at the Yuletide Though cut back aggressively by yard maintenance it confounds by rebounding Expressing abundance, assuring me privacy, deep mysterious viridian center and yellow green tips I take my chair and sit, it waves out to caress me, its curious tiny monkey hands fingering, [...]

Cannibalistic Throes For targets of naïve sorts that meets no criteria that suits Deaf natives that set boundaries that makes an island that no other can alight that cold cauldron is ready.   Tribal Wars Sounds from hearing aid feedback pestering earmolds, festering sores Hurting – iodized and bandaged. Sounds from cochlear implant cut up, dug in, thrown in, sewed up Hurting – iodized and bandaged. Sounds from embattling hands [...]

Keyboard I long to impart words all my own, but his stubby fingers do the talking. He’s way too dull. I’m kaput from input. I’m a punctual email, a simple “thanks,” a click on “send.” Or I’m saved for later. I’m lucky if he fires an angry note to his boss. The sharp jolt of his soft taps is sometimes worth the tedium of wait. But I can’t bear witness [...]

  Do you think it shocking that when I turned eighteen I found my vote never existed no of course not why because according to the republic of you i’m an unfit child I’m an unfit mother Do you think we didn’t notice how ironic it’s a corporatocracy that ordering at a mcdonald’s is much more important than the thousands of miles traveled to a signing school because according to [...]

  She said it sounds funny when you say that Say it again And it made her laugh So I said it again that funny sound He said no that’s not how you say it The ‘g’ is silent And he said you have a beautiful voice And when I said what I said they went, “huh?” He said you look funny when you mouth like that And she said [...]

  Signing Hands Across the Water An International Festival of Sign Language Poetry from the United Kindom and the United States On March 16th – 18th 2012, Swarthmore College  in Pennsylvania, USA, celebrates sign language poetry. Sign language poets from Britain and America will come together  and explore this rich and beautiful art form with members of College, the Deaf Community and visitors from the wider community. The festival will include: Friday March 16th, 7pm [...]

  Can’t remember one Too many to remember All had their hands on my throat Saw their tongues Too many times One had huge boobs With last name “Hay” Sign name looked strange Too much like ‘roll in hay’ Another one was from Jersey With last name Tague Learned ‘ue’ was silent Speech is so strange All these rules to remember with no idea if I am even saying them [...]

I am an Oral success. At around two and a half years old, I started talking. I started to learn to read at four years old. Today I can (if I so choose), order a hamburger at McDonald’s without having to repeat myself. I can speak to family, friends, and strangers, and they can understand me without problems. I can call my children to dinner from another room, or sing them [...]