What is it like to "hear" a hand?
You have to be deaf to understand.
by: William J. Madsen
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?
You have to be deaf to understand.
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 it is 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 to 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 and 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 word at large?
You have to be deaf to understand.
You have to be deaf to understand.
by: William J. Madsen
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?
You have to be deaf to understand.
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 it is 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 to 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 and 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 word at large?
You have to be deaf to understand.
Hello everyone, I hope you enjoy this poem. ;)<3 Mrs. Timson
ReplyDeleteThis poem rocked it showed me everything about being deaf it was awesome to see how people would have to be when thy are deaf and how hard it would be to be in a room with all hearing if you were deaf people aren't there for you to deal with it. Well that all I loved the poem.
ReplyDeleteRunescape lover54321 aka Marijan (Max) Michael Williams;)
I totally agree with you. I very much so loved the poem.
Deletewow! great comment!
Deleterunescape lover54321 i agree with you 100% we will never know what it is like to be deaf. I cant even try to understand what its like to try to follow directions that i didnt even hear. - Chris Posey
DeleteI really enjoyed this poem. I loved the simple but charming details it had. My favorite part was "Some nimble fingers that paint the scene." I really never thought of it being that challenging. I think that it does paint a scene. Just like a paintbrush has swift movements, so do signs. It really makes you think about how being deaf has beauty. The magical swiftness of sign language. William was correct, only deaf know. Only the deaf know the true beauty of sign language.
ReplyDeletewhoah bubbles! you have such a great insight and visual on this poem! I'm impressed! And i liked reading it from your point of view!!
DeleteI agree with you bubbles i think that this poem was very charming and that it was fun to read and that you also think that only the deaf know exactly how it is mAX
DeleteI didn't really like the poem because deaf people aren't punished in schools for using American Sign Language, and many people have TTY's now, so they don't always need to rely on someone to call a company or a friend for them. Most of the poem talks about how hard it is to be deaf and then the last stanza says that it is beautiful to be deaf and that signing is like painting in the air.
ReplyDeleteChristine
I completely agree Christine! I did not really enjoy this poem eith. Now, there are special schools/programs that deaf people can becaome enrolled in so they can learn by using sign language. I think this poem was written a long time ago befoore deaf people really had access to any type of program or school that ensured better learning.
Deletealexandra pretty much summed up my personal preference. deaf people are more accepted not than they were in our past. however i like how the poem ends. it shows a sense of hope in all of the darkness. like a light at the end of a tunnel.
DeleteI love you for saying this it shows how much you pay atention i think thats true thhat they want so much greav but then they say that there language is alot better then ours so whatever to them hahah!!!!!
DeleteI thought that this peom was really great!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think that this poem offered a good incite about how it would relly be like to be deaf. You don't really think of all of the challenges that deaf people have to overcome everyday and this poem really gave you a good idea what it would be like. I like how in the end how it also said how good it is to be deaf and sign language is a great thing
ReplyDelete-Matt
I liked your comment, even though I don't like this poem, it still shows all of the challenges that deaf people had to go through, and challenges that they are still going through. I like how you brought up that at the end it talks about how sign language is a good thing and how being deaf is also good in its own way.
Deleteonly deaf people would truly know the meaning of this poem...as a hearing person it makes me feel sad because deaf people feel so isolated from hearing people and in there surroundings. But hearing people never ever understand what it is like to be deaf. hopefully through time deaf people won't feel this way.
ReplyDelete- Erin P
Although we can imagine, hearing people have no true way of knowing how difficult it is to live with being deaf. I feel bad that deaf people feel like such outcasts when they around hearing people, but they need to understand that we are not intentionally doing this.
Deletei agree, we can feel alienated too though. like walking into a room where you don't know anyone and keeping to yourself.
Deletei hope through time, deaf culture can become more in the "norm" considering it is english, i would like to see more deaf people and hearing people interacting and helping eachother out ( both ways) cause when i read these poems i feel like its hearing people who separate themselevs and don't understand the deaf....were selfish :(
DeleteI agree Erin, I think it is especially hard to understand while you're hearing. You can't fully experience ever being deaf, you can't just shut off your hearing for a day and completely understand how deaf people feel.
DeleteI cannot even begin to imagine what it would feel like to live my life without ever hearing a sound. Our society is so focused on using your hearing in order to survive. Thankfully, we have schools, like Galludeat University, where deaf people can go and learn in a signing enviornment. Although we have made many adjustments so that deaf people can function easier in our society, they still are faced with many problems. A common experience that hearing people often take advantage of is crossing the road. Even with out looking up, we can still tell whether or not it is safe to cross because we can hear the roaring of the engiines or the screeching of the brakes from a car. My life would have to be completely transformed if I was deaf.
ReplyDelete-Alexandra Kuchta
You brought up some really good points, I would feel so isolated if i couldn't hear. I liked your example of crossing the road because it is something everyone has done before. It is a good thing that we have come such a long way from a time when they were thought to be "2nd class" citizens. With all of the technological advances they can even hear a little now or they can use TTY or facetime on phones to talk.
Deletei really like the way you thought about this peom. i also would feel alone in a world that was focused on hearing and i was not able to hear.
Deletewow alexndra that was really deep. i really made me think about how much different the deaf and hearing worlds are. us hearing people will never be able to understand how the deaf truelly live. i like how you talked about how the hearing people take advantage of certian things that the deaf cant.
DeleteI can tell this poem was not written in the present time. most of the examples it explains are not true to the society of today. i'm highly doubting that children get put in time out for using sign language in today's schools. however the alienation it still present. feeling alone or misunderstood and being made fun of is still strung through our society.
ReplyDeletei never thought of this while i was reading this grimm. i thought that they could put them in time out if they thought sign language was bad.
DeleteAll i can say is that dis is true I don't believe the situations described in the poem happen much any more
DeleteI liked the poem but it makes me feel bad for deaf people. I would hate to be deaf but now that I'm learning asl I would be fully prepared if I were to go deaf. When I read this I didn't really understand because I can't stand in the person shoes and say I'm deaf. I guess you actually have to be deaf to understand
ReplyDeleteyur right sims we will never fully grasp the feeling and understanding of being deaf and livingi on that life style. weonly have to knowledge of thinking "what if" and most deaf if they hadthe chance to hear they wouldnt so maybe its not as bad as we think it to be.
DeleteI really liked this poem. It showed how it did a good job of showing what it would be like to be deaf. It made me think of all the stugles that deaf poeple go through and it made me feel bad for them because it is a constant stuggle to be able to understand hearting people. today it is even harder for deaf people because eveneryone is so used to hearing and using their hearing and voice to communicate with other people in our society.
ReplyDelete- Matthew Nielsen
I agree with what you said on how it would be liket o be deaf. It definitley is hard for people to accept deaf people, because most people aren't that educated about them.
DeleteThis poem really spoke to me on another level. When i read this it just makes me think what if i went to an all deaf school and didnt know sign language. It would be impossible for me to understand anything. i can never understand what it would be like to live in a world without sound. i honestly might go insane from it being so quiet. it would be so hard trying to make new friends with people who cant sign. when i read this poem it makes me feel sad on the inside because this poor kid has to live in such a difficult life
ReplyDeleteyour right chris.im so stuck in the hearing lifestyle that if i ever had to change that i dont think i could live with myself on how hard it would be. hvaing to find new friends that also canty hear and having to communicate with my hands would probably most difficult.
DeleteI agree I would lose it if I had no ears for hearing I would prolly become a hobo traveling on trains looking for loose change as my only way to pay for mc Donald's food and grunt and point at the menu for what I want it would be very hard.
DeleteI agree, people don't usually but them self in other peoples position. I'm glad you did chris It made me think a lot
Deletereading this peom,every paragraph made me think of something new. made me think of how hard it would be to be deaf in some situations. im so stuck in the hearing culture that if i were to go deaf tomorrow that i dont know what i would do. it was be really hard if i was in a situation of being deaf and people not understanding the things that i say or they try to talk to me andi cant respond because i didnt know they werer talking to me. reading this poem makes me fell bad for not only the deaf community but also for the hearing because we are not caring enough for how they feel and what they have to go through everyday withoput hearing a sound.
ReplyDeleteI agree, to me it would be like yelling but no one can hear you
DeleteAfter reading this poem I realized how hard it must be to have no ears for hearing. And that this poor child must endure all the hearing people and their talking and how the child cannot participate because no ears. Why should the earless child have to talk I say that they should not be required to understand talking people because they should understand the limitations of the earless child. I believe that Asl should be required to those teachers who have earless children in their class or at least have interpreters. But being earless is also cool because when you don't want to listen to someone you already are. But the best part is that you can become part of a very strong able community of people who have a beautiful language called Asl that I feel can convey more emotion than any other I have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was really sad because everyone has an inner conivdance. But I think It would crush me not being able to prove it to some one else.
ReplyDelete