by Connor Courtien, RDPFS Intern
Dave Steele is a poet and musician who has vision loss due to retinitis pigmentosa, a group of eye diseases that cause the gradual breakdown of cells in the retina. He has explored and embraced his vision loss through his poetry, even using the moniker The Blind Poet. In continuing the observance of National Poetry Month, which “celebrates poets’ integral role in our culture,” here’s a poem from Dave Steele titled “Blind Acceptance,” reprinted with his permission:
“When I awake, continue to adapt.
Make best of little I have left,
though my energy is sapped.
“The simple things are challenges,
in tunnel learn to cope.
For distant cure,
as when unsure,
I’ll never give up hope.
“But I won’t lend my focus to a thing that may not come.
I feel my way,
through everyday
with pain from glare of sun.
“Won’t isolate,
consumed by hate,
cause world won’t understand.
I’ll use my new found talent,
blind acceptance I’ll demand.
“I’ll write my deepest fears and dreams,
for all the world to read.
Our fight for blind awareness all together we’ll succeed.
“Just hope they see,
not sympathy,
as heart and soul I bare.
But all my words are wasted if you never read and share.”
A new website from Dave Steele, theblindpoet.net, is coming soon. As of now, you can visit the site to contact him directly with any inquiries.
