There's an incredible poem I'd like to share with you tonight:  Monet Refuses the Operation, by Lisel Mueller. It's about everything one can see when 'normal' sight is taken away; it's about seeing the beauty in what remains, rather than mourning what we have lost. As such, it's my favorite poem about physical disability. It also reminds me of a question I was asked at Vassar, by English professor Kiese Laymon:  why do you write? It took our Composition class 2 one-hour sessions to answer it (we each had a turn to speak personally, and to respond to other people's...
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