This week’s post is about owning and taking the shame out of dyslexia. I could write an entire story about how I came to terms with my dyslexia and stopped being shamed, but I think my students are actually better examples of this. One of my Barton graduates, Kailey, wrote an incredible poem that I want to share with the world. This young lady has overcome a lot in her life, and she so beautifully put those struggles and her emotional evolution into words. As Kailey would say, “I’m dyslexic and proud.”
Sparrow
By: Kailey Osborn
Fourth grade first diagnosed
Not ashamed and do not care
Fifth grade teasing and jokes
The touting past yet to be let go
Still trembling forward
But have not forgotten
Embarrassed and insecure
I can’t let go
I am like the sparrow tossed in the storm
The present has become my past
For a second I believe in myself
But can never push through
A falling Sparrow I am
Too much hurt to move on
A falling Sparrow without confidence
And courage to say what’s on my mind
Four years later I still believe I am
The same person in the reflection
It is me I see
But then I see myself confident
I see the accomplishments I have made
The struggles I have beaten
I see how far I have come
How the journey has changed me for better
Life’s too short to waste time falling
A flying Sparrow I must sore high
Never look back to the ground
Be courageous and confident always
For I am who I am
I am dyslexic and proud.
I hope you enjoyed Kailey's poem as much as I do.
Thank you,
Laura Busby