Laying here so quietly,
It is ever so difficult to explain,
How the sudden stroke that has paralyzed me,
Did not completely render useless my brain.

True enough, I can’t answer you,
But I understand your every word,
I know more about you than you’ll ever know of me,
Unless you are careful to observe.

Have you never, when you’ve looked into my eyes,
Seen a person who is reaching out,
As I’ve blinked, and I’ve cried, and peered deep within your soul,
And have tried to share what it is that I’m about.

You see, even I, once had a family,
Not entirely unlike your own,
But after years of seeing no response from me,
Nearly all of them have left me alone.

For years I taught full classrooms of kids,
About the entire history of man,
And now I’m trapped within this body of mine,
That can never speak, or sit, and never stand.

When you make your tasteless jokes about me,
And disrespect me in every way,
It seems that you’ve become totally unaware,
What I might, if I could, have to say.

I would tell you for sure that the measure of a man,
Is not in the treasures he may keep.
No, the honest appraisal of good men,
Is in the way that they protect the weak.

Slow down, good people, as you work through the day,
And consider the good you might do,
Reflect on the joy that would surely be yours,
If you were to do unto me, as I would unquestionably do unto you.

However humble your service might be,
Miracles are yours to perform,
Speak kindly to me, hold my hand if you will,
Place a blanket to keep me warm.

Don’t miss your chance to enrich our world,
You are needed in oh so many ways,
Envision this world as our beautiful place,
For all, until the end of our days.