Tag: disability

• Please pay at the reception desk on your way out @ Kaleidoscope

  

  The first time my poem “Please pay at the reception desk on your way out” was published was in the late autumn of 2020. It was accepted by Blanket Sea, a small indie publication dedicated to poetry about chronic illness. I received the honour of having my poem nominated for the Best of the Net Awards that year.

  But the poem’s journey didn’t end there. I have been lucky enough to have this poem picked up a second time. This time it’s appearing in Kaleidoscope magazine, a publication run by United Disability Services (Ohio, US), that creatively focuses on the experiences of disability through literature and the fine arts.

  Please visit the online edition of Kaleidoscope: Issue 86 to read my poem (it’s on p. 61) and enjoy essays, short fiction, art, and more on the theme of discovering unexpected truths.

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  January 18, 2023

  chronic illness, disability, ME/CFS, Poetry

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• Poetry in translation: Thawed

  after Mustafa Kör

  Comes a day when you
  all promises notwithstanding
  are no longer in
  the midst of battle commanding
  bread and love

  The body proved a tool
  that performs what the prompter asked

  Done with the unrest
  and the tragedy of hearts
  The mystical had a star role
  especially for you

  You wailed across the world
  when you became human and balled your fists
  to face life
  that wailed in unison that day
  for the fate that would befall you
  like frost on blossom

  This poem is a translation from the Dutch. The original poem “Ontdooid” is by Belgian/Turkish poet Mustafa Kör. It speaks of life with a disability.

  March 11, 2022

  chronic illness, disability, Poetry, poetry translation

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