Mervin D. Garretson
Lines: 27
[Poem]

(Lisbon to New York)

my reality against your pretense
your truths may not be mine
I'm not you you're not me
take a garden crowned with flowers
some are roses some are not
take a blanket filled with fruit
some are peaches some are not.

take a heaven filled with clouds
some are cirrus some are not
take a cellar stocked with wine
some is vintage some is not.

take a classroom filled with love
some are hearing some are not
some are knowing some are not
some are tender some are true.

some are for some are with
some are a some are the
some mean well some know better
some can speak and some cannot.

some know books some know life
some have faith some have doubt
some know what it's all about
some have eyes but cannot see
some have hearing but are deaf
these are deafer than the deaf.

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Mervin D. Garretson had an illustrious career in Deaf education, retiring as special assistant to the president of Gallaudet University. Some of his poems, though not this one, appear in the anthology Deaf American Poetry, which is available at https://www.clercscar.com/books