Written by Ella Cook
I write long letters,
teach with hope,
embrace beautiful challenges
each word, each act
a quiet revolution.
There's much progress to be made;
roads unpaved, voices unheard.
But roads we press forward.
"There is no about us without us,
We must listen to those who wish to teach":
a truth that resounds,
a call we must answer.
Silenced when all we needed
Was a microphone
yet our voices rise—
unbound, unstoppable.
Living with a disabled body,
but not a disabled love of life,
for joy is not measured
by the steps we take.
What more beautiful fortune
in this world if it is not family;
those who uplift our voices,
who see the fullness of who we are,
and walk besides us toward the future.
Disability & Access Collective 