A Disabled Sestina
By Jordyn Taylor
She wonders what it would be like to talk about her disability,
not as something that makes her weak,
but portrays the power, not the tension,
in her. Her limp,
her hand, she rummages through her mind…
one thing she knows for sure: she is not broken.
She has always felt a little broken.
A permanent crutch, labeled disability,
labeled weak,
highlighted across her body,
bright hues building tension
when she feels the tightness through her limp,
and yet, sometimes she fears it’s all in her mind.
It’s not your business, never you mind,
she doesn’t care if you think she’s broken,
she is not defined by her disability,
she is not defined by her weakness.
She has learned to release that tension,
She is not lim(ited).
Define — "Walk with difficulty, typically because of a damaged or stiff leg or foot” — Limp
Define — “The faculty of consciousness and thought” – Mind
Define — “Having been fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order”
— Broken
Define — “A physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or
activities” — Disability
Define — “Lacking physical strength and energy” — Weak
Define — “The state of being stretched tight” — Tension
The tightness defines the tension,
the damage defines the limp,
the person defines the mind,
the damage defines the break,
the limits define the disabled.
Their power destroys their weakness.
She defines her weakness
as nonexistent. And in no tenses
will the difficulty come in the form of a limp,
but instead in others’ minds
that put it there. Damaged does not mean broken,
broken does not mean disability.
Disability tricks her body into thinking it is weak,
the tension limping its way to the surface again,
but her mind, like her body, will never be broken.
Jordyn Taylor (she/her) is an emerging writer from Bangor, Pennsylvania. She received degrees in Creative Writing and Publishing and Editing with a Professional and Civic Writing minor at Susquehanna University. Her work has been published in four of Susquehanna’s on-campus literary magazines, and her poetry chapbook was also published on campus.