Today I went for a walk,
Well, actually a shuffle;
The ground was uneven,
With 14 surgeries on my legs,
I can barely move.

Everyone passed me by,
But I had the advantage;
I could see everything they missed,
I could hear what they didn’t,
I could smell and taste what they couldn’t.

I felt sorry for them;
I had constant pain to let me know, That I was alive;
I was grateful to walk,
Grateful to be alive.

I hadn’t smelled the earth for years,
The moisture from the rain and river on my skin and tongue;
The woody smell from both growing and rotting wood;
They all spoke to me.

Sometimes a disability is an advantage.
It holds you in the present;
It sharpens your senses,
And reminds you how lucky you are to still be here;
Whilst the rest of the world walks by distracted.