Imagine....
A world totally void of sound
Birds twittering noiselessly in the trees
Music just a series of thumps; No melody.
People's lips moving, but no sound coming out
Moving lawnmowers silent, phones unused
Busy roads totally devoid of sound
Torrid rivers rushing silently by you
Building construction quietly going up
Kids running round with their mouths open and moving
But no sound coming out
You stare at people's lips trying to make sense of the shapes
People laughing at jokes, but you never got the punchline.
But you laugh along anyway so not to appear stupid.
Why do people think deafness is better than being blind?
Don't they realise communication is what make the world keep going?
That without communication,
Life is grey, uncolourful, boring and flat.
That such a small percentage of people sign
that it seems hardly worthwhile learning.
Why is it?
That people find deafness embarrassing?
That people are reluctant to repeat what was said?
Are they scared that a repeated sentence might reverberate
through space and time, never stopping?
Are they worried that by repeating themselves, that they themselves,
might be thought of as deaf?
Like the affliction is catching?
I prefer the world of sound
The birds, my music, The phone,
Through my cochlear implant
Even if it's not perfect.
But I wonder why people think deafness is better than blindness?
It puzzles me.
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