Erin
Byrne
by Erin Byrne
I sit for
an infinite age,
Wondering just how loquacious
a person can
be.
Seems even stranger
when a
stranger is talking;
After all,
They�re discussing
me.
I sit for an infinite age,
In a room of seven
or eight,
Wondering when, or
if, I�ll ever
get my say,
Or is it too late.
Indignantly, I think,
�How can a goal ever
be set, if
not by oneself,
By other persons
in a team of
two or three?�
Strange, it seems,
Not right,
After all,
They�re discussing
me. I sit for an
infinite age,
Restlessly, shifting my feet
under the table,
Anticipating the onset of
freedom,
When the pen is passed to me.
�Sign, sign.� they say,
�Everything is done.�
And, as I touch the pen to paper,
I wonder if my presence in the
room,
Is really known.
Suddenly, I realize
with a start,
I�ve lost track of
much of what
was said.
Signing my name,
I wonder, in my heart,
What is in store
for me in the
year ahead.
I sit for an infinite age,
A frustrated student
at my IEP.
How unusual the meeting
is;
I think, next time,
I will speak!
After all,
They�re discussing
me.
|
|
Erin
Byrne
|
Erin Byrne is a 19-year-old entering freshman at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she will major in Music Education and Spanish. Among her many accomplishments, Erin is one of the youngest members to be inducted in the Stark County, Ohio, Women�s Hall of Fame. She is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts, and a NFB of Ohio Scholarship winner. Blind from birth from a type of osteoporosis (she has used a wheelchair since 5th grade), Erin wrote this poem when she was a 17-year-old student at Glen Oak High School in Canton, Ohio. Theresa Byrne, Erin�s mother, reports that Erin was a full and effective participant in all her IEP meetings throughout her middle and high school years. Evidently, Erin did learn to speak up! Erin reports that she still likes to dabble in creative writing regarding disability issues. Hopefully, we will see more of her thoughts in future issues.