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I Cry and Am Not Heard

This post is in memory of Ann-Marie Smith; a woman with cerebral palsy who tragically and unnecessarily died recently. May she rest in peace.


I Cry and Am Not Heard

Groups of people go out with binoculars in search for that one rare bird
Yet I cry and am not heard.
Causing pain with a cane was outlawed years ago
Yet I feel the bite day and night.

 My soul is not dirty but I wait and wait to be clean;
You're standing right there but I am not heard or seen.
I do not ask for much even though I miss human touch.
All I need is what's fair, just one person to care.

I hear you call me Ann-Marie Smith, I am not heard.
I listen to you whisper Tessa but I am not heard.
You shout Tony but I am not heard.
I am many people with disabilities, I am not heard.

How many times have people with disabilities been told,
'It's different than it was back then, it will never happen again'.
It's 2020; you have a vision of understanding and care
But you're not the one stuck in the chair.

Come, sit in my seat for awhile and then you might understand
Your job is about more than just making us smile.
Ann-Marie Smith was not a rare bird 
But she still deserved to be seen and to be heard.

© Chris Van Ingen - 17 May 2020


Ann-Marie Smith
Photo taken from ABC News, supplied by SA Police.

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