What matters deafness of the ears, when the mind hears?

 
Yes, the toddler is me. I must be about a year old then, and already, I cannot use the phone properly. It’s still the case now. :P

 

Another re-post from an old journal entry of mine, circa 2005.

*** 

You know how certain poems somehow manage to penetrate to the marrow of your bones, hitting raw nerves and upsetting the equilibrium of your heart along the way? This one does - it touches, stings and soothes. Because it speaks, simply but profoundly, for how I feel about my students, and perhaps, just perhaps, for myself.

Perfect That Way
- Julie Druden

She was born a little less than perfect
at least in that doctor’s eyes
he said that she’ll be different
much more than you ever realized
that girl grew up not knowing
the sound of her mama’s voice
God’s gift to her was silence
in a world so full of noise
and she sings with her smile
and talks with her hands
she listens with her heart
so she always understands
she believes there’s more to life
than the sounds that it makes
she’s perfect that way
shes got a sign for the thunder
one for the wind and the rain
she’s the kind that keeps you laughing
and the first to see your pain
and she sings with her smile
and talks with her hands
she listens with her heart
so she always understands
she believes there’s more to life
than the sounds that it makes
she’s perfect that way
she believes there’s more to life
than the sounds that it makes
she’s perfect that way
she was born a little less than perfect
at least in that doctor’s eyes

***

With a little research - thanks again, Google! - I managed to track down the origins of this poem, which turns out to be a song. 

“Perfect That Way” is a beautiful, heartfelt ballad which is musically reminiscent of the elegant, piano-based ballads of Bruce Hornsby or Don Henley. The song has a special lyric message, telling the story of a girl who was born with a hearing impairment, but is nevertheless a wonderful, intelligent person who is “perfect” in many other ways. It was inspired by Durden’s niece Lindsey, 11, who happens to be deaf.  

For more information about the singer-songwriter..

Read on…