The Cage

 There is a girl in Poland who has never spoken a word.  Her name

is Joanna, and her story appeared on Sprawa dla Reportera.  When she 

was born, the doctors pulled her too hard breaking bones and causing severe

nerve damage.  She later learned to communicate in code symbols developed

by a prisoner in Aushwitz.  Using that, she has written poetry and wishes 

to write a book about her story.  This poem was written for her and sent to her

through the television program noted above.

The cage has no door,

Bars are all around,

In a dance of feathers,

She sings from within,

Clothed in yellow beauty,

She shines through the bars,

A picture of full life,

Heart beating notes of joy,

Love flowing like sun’s rays,

Warmth knowing in truth,

God is within her,

Surrounding around her,

Binding us together,

In spite of her bars,

Her cage is but temporal,

As her soul is uncontained,

Soaring the skies above me,

Teaching me how to fly,

Resounding in true beauty,

Beyond imagination’s limits,

The cage is a wheelchair,

Her lips remain silent,

But my soul hears her song.