(To the corporeally crippled: Delight! Delight!)
Blessed are the naturally blind.
For although they cannot see the path they walk upon,
They know how to feel their way in this world.
Blessed are the physically deaf and dumb.
For although sound is foreign to them,
They know how to express their feelings through signs.
Blessed are the bodily weak and incapable.
For although their bodies are numb to stimuli,
They know how to respond to things of life and living.
(To me, what torment! What misfortune!)
Woe to me who is blind to the ways of love.
For I do not know how to feel my way to your heart.
Woe to me who is deaf and dumb to the songs of love.
For I do not know what signs to employ to say I care.
Woe to me who is insensitive to the agitations of love.
For I do not know how to respond to everything about you.
Oh,
Of all beings blessed with corporal things --
I am the most damned!
And because of this,
I am forever doomed to ponder:
What is it like to be loved by you?
(February 1993)