“cerebral-palsied joy” by Pamela Vaccariello
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “cerebral-palsied joy” by Pamela Vaccariello.
cerebral-palsied joy
By Pamela Vaccariello
snowdrop hands,
icicle digits hanging from their petals,
and sometimes, sunshine for a face.
when it glows bright enough,
frozen fingers melt just slightly,
made malleable, made
to furl into petal palms,
forming flower fists.
torso warms, too,
heart-burningโno, bursting
into flames, when brain,
in its frenzied excitement, its
desperate attempt for breath,
confuses exhalation for inhalation,
gastric acid for oxygen,
so that iโm left gasping,
chest heavingโ
but in the best way possible.
laughter is to my body
what wind is to a willow tree,
trunk bending, but never breaking,
leaves grazing grass
tasting oh-so-sweet,
when caused by my being
this happy.
Copyright ยฉ Pamela Vaccariello
Pamela Vaccariello is a disabled writer from Tiohtiร :ke/Montreal, who recently received a BA in Creative Writing from Concordia University. Her poetry often explores disability, the body, and the natural world. Her work has previously been published in SPACE magazine, Creations literary journal, and Someplace Generous: An Inclusive Romance Anthology.
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