Power Out!
Power out!
All dark and black . . .
Fret not
Body bumps
Hands gliding softly
Feet and the floor
Rug! Another rug!
Body bumps into another
We mesh and dance swiftly
Away in the dark!
Copyright © 2023 by Hayley Broadway. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on July 3, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets.
“I reside in Austin, where there was a winter storm that caused a power outage that lasted for a few days back in February. As a DeafBlind tactile-reliant person, I was thrilled to move around in our home without any visual distractions, such as lights! I wrote this on February 3 of this year, and it was a hit with the DeafBlind community. When we navigate through our spaces, rugs are great tactile information for our feet, and we typically bump into each other when there are other people around!”
—Hayley Broadway