Guest Post: Poems Written By JJ and Her Sister

I have the honor of presenting a guest post today from not one, but two guests: my oldest and youngest daughters. For your reading pleasure we have a poem written by six-year-old JJ (who lives with Rett Syndrome) and one composed by her nine-year-old sister, RoRo.

JJ used her eye-gaze device to compose her poem, which was a long process and did involve some help from her communication partners. First, she learned about poetry by watching YouTube videos, then she narrowed down the theme and structure she wanted for her poem by answering our yes/no questions. Lastly, she went line by line using her device and told us what happened next in her poem. The final result is as goofy as she is. RoRo worked hard on her own poem as well and chose to write it about her sister.

We entered both poems in a children's poetry contest and though they didn't win, both girls' poems were chosen to appear in the published anthology--an honor not many of the writers received.

Enjoy!

How I Came to Live with The Aliens

         By JJ

The aliens came to visit my school.

They were purple, strong, and magical.

They spoke German and were really small.

The other children didn’t speak German, like me,

so I used my speech device to make friends.

The aliens came to visit my school.

We had lunch together.

The aliens had chili and mashed potatoes for the first time.

I tried some alien food.

It was crunchy and colorful.

I liked it.

The aliens came to visit my school.

They came to physical therapy with me.

I showed them how to use the equipment.

They clapped for me.

The aliens came to visit my school.

I got to see their spaceship.

They took me to their planet and I lived with them.

We had a dance party.

My Sister the Shining Star

By RoRo

My sister is different but special.

A very sweet girl, though she suffers.

She is like my special star.

Though there are many opportunities in life,

As her condition takes them away,

She continues to shine.

Her condition has sucked

All her opportunities bare.

It takes away abilities,

Leaving her in the dust.

Now it has robbed her

Of things she needs.

In the fight against it

She works her hardest.

Our life together is a very difficult one.

Ups and downs, highs and lows,

Good days and bad days make up our life together.

A life with a girl shining like a star,

Working hard despite her abilities robbed.

Though she never has and never will lose her ability to love.