This was my first poem: ~~~ Memories. Of the past. Swimming. Salt.The smell of pine trees.At night. Walking.Racing dragon boats. On the river. The laughter emerges.The sadness remains. Always. I am changed. ~~~ I wrote it within the first couple of weeks after I was discharged from hospital. Until then, I’d had no use for … Read more
My name is Deborah Brandon and I have a disability. There! I’ve said it, after four years. Yes, I have alluded to it in the past, but I’ve had difficulties actually using the word to describe myself. I have said it before, maybe a couple of times, but I didn’t really mean it. I didn’t … Read more
The first time I saw a photo of a Turkish shepherd wearing a floor-length kepenek over his shoulders, I thought of a toddler wearing a snowsuit, standing stiffly, barely able to move—it looked so bulky and cumbersome. I couldn’t begin to imagine a shepherd working while wearing such a garment. Surely there was more to … Read more
