“You Have To be Deaf…”

At the age of 10 I was handed this poem by a friend of my Dad. I read it and was hooked! I’m hearing, I don’t claim to know or have the experience of being Deaf, but I watched and learned directly from the core Deaf community at Gallaudet and Western Maryland College (now McDaniel college )

You Have to be Deaf to Understand

by Willard J. Madsen

(written in 1971)

What is it like to “hear” a hand? You have to be Deaf to understand. What is it like to be a small child, In a school, in a room void of sound – With a teacher who talks and talks and talks; and then when she does come around to you, She expects you to know what she’s said? Or the teacher thinks that to make you smart, You must first learn how to talk with your voice; So mumbo-jumbo with hands on your face For hours and hours without patience or end, Until out comes a faint resembling sound? You have to be Deaf to understand. What is it like to be curious? To thirst for knowledge you can call your own, With an inner desire that’s set on fire – And you ask a brother, sister, or friend Who looks in answer and says, “Never mind”? You have to be Deaf to understand. What is it like in a corner to stand, Though there’s nothing you’ve done really wrong, Other than try to make use of your hands To a silent peer to communicate A thought that comes to your mind all at once? You have to be Deaf to understand. What is it like to be shouted at When one thinks that will help you hear; Or misunderstand the words of a friend Who is trying to make a joke clear, And you don’t get the point because he’s failed? You have to be Deaf to understand. What is it like to be laughed in the face When you try to repeat what is said; Just to make sure that you’ve understood, And you find that the words were misread – And you want to cry out, “Please help me, friend”? You have to be Deaf to understand. What is it like to have to depend Upon one who can hear to phone a friend; Or place a call to a business firm And be forced to share what’s personal, and Then find that your message wasn’t made clear? You have to be Deaf to understand. What is it like to be Deaf and alone In the company of those who can hear – And you only guess as you go along, For no one’s there with a helping hand, As you try to keep up with words or song? You have to be Deaf to understand. What is it like on the road of life? To meet with a stranger who opens his mouth – And speaks out a line at a rapid pace; And you can’t understand the look in his face Because it is new and you’re lost in the race? You have to be Deaf to understand. What is it like to comprehend Some nimble fingers that paint the scene, And make you smile and feel serene With the “spoken word” of the moving hand that makes you part of the world at large? You have to be Deaf to understand. What is it like to “hear” a hand? Yes, you have to be Deaf to understand.