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POEMS
STORIES, SONGS AND QUOTES
PERSONAL THOUGHTS WRITTEN BY OUR MEMBERS
Many
of our members have written poems and journal entries about having a child
with Trisomy 21. This page is a compilation of some of these
writings. You will also find links to other sites that have lists of
poems, stories, songs and quotes that are related to having a child with
Trisomy 21.
If
you would like to contribute your personal writings to this page, send
them to Monica with the
title line "Poems etc Page Submission".
 QUICK
LINKS
Clicking
on any of the links below will drop you to the section you are looking
for!
[
WRITTEN BY OUR MEMBERS ] [ LINKS
TO OTHER SITES ]
Written
by Our Members
The
following are poems, journal entries, stories, songs and quotes that our
community members have written about having a child with Down
Syndrome/Trisomy 21. Please note that there are also links to other
site with stories, poems, songs and quotes at the bottom of this page.
Perspectives on Creating the Ideal Educational
Setting for Our Children
Pamela (Login PamelaF)
ME THE CHILD, TO OTHER
CHILDREN , THINKING BACK TO WHEN I WAS A DIFFERENTLY
ABLED CHILD.
Help me find my spirit and my passion>>>> and you will
inevidably lead me to success.
AS I GREW AND BECAME A TEACHER
To my colleagues the teachers....
Seek out any and all ways to help yourself believe in
the differently able child you are teaching. Once you
open this door feel the bright light, joy and happiness,
knowing success is now assured!
FROM A PARENTS PERSPECTIVE
As I grew and became the parent speaking to other
parents of the differently able.
Focus on all the differently able child can do, staying
in the present, enjoying the wonderful gift of love we
have been given thru them!
FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S PERSPECTIVE
As I grew, and became a principal...
Always remember the importance of parental knowledge, as
the most valued, and respected resourse of a child's
life!
Help in any way to strengthen, and nuture the belief in
the child's success, for both the child and parents now,
and throughout their lives!
Using the child, parent, teacher, and principal's
perspective together>>>
Remember, it is all we are and all we do passionaltely
that leads us to the highest levels of achievement. When
describing the differently able child, always see them
in a positive, successful light. Using empowering words
to help build a strong belief in each and every person's
potencial. We are all more alike than different, showing
the most important gift of all>>>> THE ABILITY TO EXTEND
LOVE!
Something I wrote for the many workshops, and
conferences I gave on the differently abled child... AND
HOW TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL educational environment!
JUDGEMENT IS BLIND, ONLY LOVE SEES!
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Welcome
to My World
©2002 Kei D. Malone (Login Kei_as_in_K)
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Let
me open up a world of wonder for you
A world of exploration
Where you learn to look at everything
With a new perspective
Let
me show the wonders that life has to offer
The wonders of patience
Where persistence and repetition reward
Basic skills often taken for granted
Let
me share the innocence of childhood
The innocence of purity
Where I will show you unconditional love
And trust and faith
Let
me open your heart to deeper levels
A heart full of compassion
Where you will treat others with patience
Understanding and love
Let
me educate you and expand your mind
Learn so you may teach
Where we can reach our full potential
Together
Let
me inspire you to receive each day as a gift
Accept each moment
Where detours can lead you to interesting paths
Creating cherished memories
Let
me ease your sorrows and your pain
Look into my eyes
Where you will see the love and faith and wonder
I see when I look in yours
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Stomping
In Puddles
Monica (Login mom2mikey)
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You
know those moments when everything around you just freezes for a
moment and you suddenly know something more then you did a moment
before? I had one tonight!
We
have had about one inch of moisture in our area since the
beginning of the year (and I'm really not exaggerating!). There
have been water restrictions on everything for the past couple of
months. I live in an irrigation farming district and with
these types of springs comes a feeling of doom... a realization
that whatever money is put into a crop will probably not come back
out. We, who have a monthly paycheck, with a set income can
comprehend what it feels like to come down to those last 3-4 days
of the month and know you have no money so you just pray you make
it to payday... but can any of us really understand what that
would feel like if there were well over 365 days before the next
paycheck? Growing up on a farm, I know I exaggerate a bit but I do
believe it must be overwhelming.
It
is also June now... the last two weeks I've gone into a building
that is usually full of teenagers - hormones bursting at the seems
- laughter and friendship encase you when you walk in. But as
finals approach each year, a tension overtakes the school...
students, parents, teachers and administrators all take on a
different presence. Those spontaneous happy moments are replaced
with pressure, expectation, anticipation and sometimes even fear!
Grade 12s begin to talk about their "lasts"... this is
their last English class or their last Chemistry class. This is
the last time they will ride the bus. This is the last time they
have to participate in morning assembly. And although the
excitement and anticipation is what they show you outwardly, you
also feel the sharp edges in their words and emotions. Once again
things are changing... and I know as a teacher that when I come
back in September the feel of the school will not be the same for
we will have lost part of our personality. It will be rebuilt with
a whole new personality but for now, in the middle of the loss,
that does not matter.
Its
not a sad feeling... its more an understanding and acceptance of
the cyclical way that life works but in these moments when there
is so much emotion, you seldom have it interrupted by a moment of
complete joy!
But
tonight... a wind comes rolling in... and before you see the
clouds you actually hear them RUMBLING in and then with a clap of
thunder that demands your attention, the rain starts to fall. It
beats down faster and heavier with each passing moment and its
beautiful and just exactly perfect for this moment in time. The
rain could not have chosen a better night to announce its
presence. All the students in the area have finished their exams
today and the evening can be spent once again in blissful teenage
'nothingness' rather then in and 'adult-state of stress and
panic'. And all night long I've sat at my window, experiencing the
rain with all my senses but more so then the rain, I've been
touched time and time again as I hear voices of laughter and then
see children from 6 right through to about 25 dancing up and down
the street... their heads thrown back completely abandoning the
hold that we often pride ourselves on holding over our lives.
Dancing and stomping and their clothes so wet they stick right to
their skin... some even laughing so hard that they fall in the
puddles.
And
as I see a couple more go by, I think of my sweet baby boy asleep
in his crib and how he seems to know this joy every minute of
everyday. For him, it doesn't take a rainstorm after a drought to
elicit that joy that reaches right to the bottom of your toes. For
him, its as simple as getting up in the morning... as simple as
singing a Barney song... or getting McDonald's French Fries! Could
you imagine being stuck in that moment where you realize more then
they did before every second of the day... every second of your
life? Sometimes that is what I think it is like for Mikey... he
seems to 'know' so much more then I do.
And
then I think of all those people who look at him and *think* how
about how sad it is... I wish there were a way to let them know
that to me he appears to forever be dancing in the rain and
stomping in the puddles... the only thing that is sad about that
is that the rest of us are so often holed up inside our houses
afraid to go outside - because it might be cold, or wet, or messy,
or, God-forbid "childish"!
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As
I Sit Here...
Chelsae (Login OurAngelAlicia)
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As
I sit here and watch you sleep
I wonder what is in store
I want to give you everything
And even so much more.
As I sit here and watch you sleep
You are so incredible to me..
To think that you are really mine
It is just too good to be...
As I sit here and watch you sleep
I can not wait until you open your eyes
You are always such a happy baby
They all say you have smiling eyes.
As I sit here and watch you play
It amazes me all you can do
Rolling over, holding yourself up..
You are so strong, and determined too.
As I sit here and watch you smile
It totally lights up my world
It's unbelievable what it does to me
Just to look at my little girl.
As I sit hear and listen to you
You just sit and talk to me
Telling me all about everything
That I just simply don't see.
As I sit there and listen to you
I wonder what you are trying to say
And dream about when you will say a word...
I won't rush it, it'll happen anyway.
As I sit here and watch you sleep
There are so many things going through my head
Wondering if you picked your sibling...
And what you two may have said.
Wondering what you are dreaming
And what you will do someday
Wondering what you will want in life
And what words you will someday say.
Wondering how you will grow
And how you'll change everyday
Dreaming about you walking, talking...
It'll be such a proud day. 
I know it may not be easy
And at times it may seem unfair
But the one thing that will get me through
Is my baby girl being right there.
Together we can make it through
Whatever may come along
And no matter how difficult it is
It will only make us strong.
You amaze me
more everyday
With the things that you do
Everyday you make me laugh and smile
It's impossible not to be happy with you.
You just have a gift for making people happy
And for make them feel at ease
Maybe it is because you are so calm
And very obviously at peace.
You are content just to have someone love you
And have them sit and talk up a storm
As long as you have what you need
And someone there to keep you warm.
I just can not believe
How beautiful you are to me
I really do not understand...
How not everyone is able to see.
How can they look at you...
And not see the beauty I see
I don't understand how people are blind...
You are perfectly beautiful to me.
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POEM
Kristi
(Login peaceful0780)
|
June
16, 2003
My
sweet little angel is not sleeping good tonight, so mommy is up
late. And for some reason I have a clearer train of thought when
I'm tired. This poem was inspired by a conversation I had awhile
back with a complete stranger. She said that I had been blessed to
have that angel...and she was the first person to say that
"I" was blessed....everyone always talks about how
"Rand" is blessed...which in a way we both our but I
feel I am blessed to have been chosen to be his mother. So this is
where all the below "babbling" came from...if you are
reading this...thank you for taking time to read it.
They
say that you've been blessed,
cause you came from up above.
They say that you've been blessed,
and we will give you lots of love.
They say that you've been blessed,
to be sent down here for me.
They say that you've been blessed,
with a loving family.
They say that you've been blessed,
I will keep you close and safe.
They say that you've been blessed,
and I will never loose my faith.
They say that you've been blessed,
but I have to disagree.
Cause it's me who was blessed,
to have you sent down here for me.
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THOUGHTS
FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
by Pam Wilson
Reprinted from
Northwest Baby & Child
(c/o BDS, 400 North 36th St, Seattle WA 98103 USA)
May, 1991, with permission from the Down Syndrome News.
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When
my son Evan was born and I was told he had Down Syndrome, I did
not cry for a long time. But when I saw a girl walking hand in
hand with her little brother to the viewing window of the hospital
nursery, I could not hold back my tears. I knew my daughter would
never walk with her little brother that way. I knew he would never
experience the small pleasures of life I always took for granted.
In those minutes my heart was broken and I was overcome with
sadness for both my children.
Now, almost six years later, I am filled with pity for the
misinformed, heartbroken woman who sat crying in that cold
hospital corridor, without hopes, dreams, or fight in her. She was
wrong about so many things. That part of me continues to be
reeducated: I am grateful for every new lesson I learn.
I am thankful to that woman. She found she did have some fight in
her. She was not the first mother to fall in love with her
newly-diagnosed child. She learned of brave and stubborn mothers
who put themselves forward in the media to spread a message of
hope. She let the memories of those mothers stir her into action.
I shall always revere the mothers and fathers who reached out a
hand, and who built a foundation of support, information, and
resources for women like me to draw upon. What they did for their
children transformed my son's life. They continue, still looking
forward, always reaching back to help others.
I still reach back to the woman I was. I hold her gently and wish
that in her grief she could hear me. "It's not like that.
Please don't lose yourself in that sadness. Hold on, wait and see.
So much of that grief is over things that are just not true."
I know she has to sit there crying, and I don't know how long. I
will wait with her and be a friend.
Evan will be six years old in a month. His sister Zoe is seven and
a half. When they are not arguing ferociously or ignoring one
another, as siblings do, they are the best of friends. They help
one another scheme, and protect each other from harm. Both have
argued seriously how life for the whole family would be better if
the other disappeared, leaving an "only child."
Each misses the other when they are separated overnight. I rarely
think about the sister and brother walking toward the nursery
viewing window, but sometimes when I see my two walking hand in
hand down the beach or up a hiking trail, I think of the poor, sad
woman I was that day.
I can't imagine life without my son. Sometimes when he barrels
into my bedroom early Saturday morning to tell me a great cartoon
is on, I wonder what life would be like without little boys. But I
get up, and find he has quite good taste in cartoons. I think of
him in his preschool days, chin raised in pride over some fabulous
work of art, like the turkey he pasted up when he was three. I
remember him seeing his good buddy from class, Terrell, at a
school carnival, and how their eyes met. They squealed in unison
and ran to one another like sweethearts in a perfume commercial. I
enjoy the story his teacher relayed to me about how, during a
cookie-baking class, he slyly nibbled his chocolate chips instead
of saving them for the cookie. I am glad every day to have this
son. The world is a better place with him in it.
Evan is not a Down Syndrome "superstar," but I wanted
him to have the experience of a regular kindergarten. He loves
school and has a wonderful teacher. His classmates are charming
and funny and bright. But I was afraid of their parents. Evan has
missed some fine opportunities because many people are as
inexperienced and uninformed as I was six years ago. I believe
Evan needs an edge before he can participate successfully in
mainstream activities, and that edge is casual acceptance.
Last night was parent night at my son's kindergarten class. I was
overwhelmed by the relaxed but purposeful way different parents
let me know that they accept my son simply as a child in the
kindergarten class. Their hands reach back to comfort the
heartbroken woman in the hospital corridor. They comfort her in
ways that I cannot. I thank every person who has brought us all
this far. Thank you so much.
Thoughts from the Middle of the Night by Pam Wilson. Northwest
Baby, May, 1991.
http://www.our-kids.org/Archives/TFtMotN.html
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Links
to Other Sites
The
following are links to sites that list poems, stories, songs and quotes
related to either disabilities in general or Down Syndrome/Trisomy 21.
This list of sites has been compiled from suggestions by our community
members. If you know of any pages that have provided you comfort,
please post them on the general discussion board and they will be added to
this list.
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