National Poetry Month

It’s National Poetry Month! To celebrate, we’ve invited all in our community – people with IDD, their family members, and all other supporters – to share an original poem with us. Now, we’re so excited to showcase the submissions we’ve received!

Explore the poems below and join us in celebrating the creativity of our community members.

Starman shining, 
Bright lights flashing, everybody vibin’. 
Dreams so big, yeah, the sky can’t hold ‘em, 
Star Force strong, watch the rhythm unfoldin’.Spotlight blazing, 
Crowd goes wild, the music’s amazing. 
Turn up the heat, feel my energy booming, 
DJ Dylan got the whole world moving.Gold chains swingin’, 
I’m in the zone, the beat keeps singin’. 
Heart of fire, I’m the sound they’re choosin’, 
Love and rhythm — that’s my fusion.I see the stars align when I hit that groove, 
Every rhythm I drop got something to prove. 
From the floor to the moon, yeah, I make ‘em move, DJ Dylan got that starman mood.
I been climbing through the shadows, now the lights all call my name,
Heart beating like a meteor, burning through the dark and flame.
Every whisper say I won’t, but every step say that I might—
Turn my fears into a firework, blowing open up the night.
I’m the spark they never counted, I’m the shift they didn’t see,
Breaking gravity’s old rules like they were never meant for me.
And if the world ain’t ready yet, guess they’re ’bout to realize—
You can’t stop a star in motion when it’s destined just to rise.

The cat’s in the hallway again.
He’s in the hallway and he will never stop 
darting past my legs
as I laugh in surprise
He makes me laugh when he annoys me 
because he’s a cat 
I practice radical acceptance with him
I don’t hold his faults against him because
he’s a cat and his peccadilloes are as familiar
to me as my own. It’s our language, like ivy
crawling over the exposed brick.
I’m trying to define love. That’s the same
as it’s always been

There are always rules and laws for everything 
The same goes for being a human 
Here are the rules on how to be a human. 

Number 1:  You Must Fit into the Norm. 
Second:     You must be well educated. 
Three:        You must have an impressive job. 
Four:          You must be like everyone else. 
Number 5:  You must be successful. 

What the rules should be: 

Number 1:     Be your own person. 
Number 2:    Try your best. 
Number 3:    Do what you love. 
Number 4:    Do things that make you proud. 
Number 5:    Be kind and respectful. 
Number 6:    Love yourself. 
Number 7:    Breathe air.
Number 8:    Have a beating heart.
 

You ponder on what you should call me. 
It’s a question that everyone faces at some point.

You call me weird. 
You call me different. 
You call me “special”.

But that is not my name.

You call me slow. 
You call me lazy. 
You call me lagging.

Still, that is not my name.

You call me faulty. 
You call me broken. 
You call me damaged.

That’s not my name.

You call me disabled. 
You call me challenged. 
You call me flawed.

That is not my name.

Just call me Molly.