A Wing Grew

When Ron had his accident and effectively lost the use of one arm and leg, I immediately thought of a poem I'd read in school.

"A Man ----- Nina Cassian
While fighting for his country, he lost an arm
and was suddenly afraid:
'From now on, I shall only be able to do things by halves.
I shall reap half a harvest.
I shall be able to play either the tune
or the accompaniment on the piano,
but never both parts together.
I shall be able to bang with only one fist on doors, and worst of all
I shall only be able to half hold my love close to me.
There will be things I cannot do at all,
applaud for example, at shows where everyone applauds.'
From that moment on, he set himself to do
everything with twice as much enthusiasm.
And where the arm had been torn away a wing grew.


Very, very true. That's how I look at my life, too. I don't have everything "normal" does, but I have many things it doesn't.