No trying to hide
handicap pride
Smooth in stride
although rounding off edges
scraping paint jobs
and murdering flip-flops – oh my –
why can’t every doorway be three feet wide?
What an eyesore

Aspiring to be
a traveling writer some day
Trounce the earth
Lay
Say, “Hey!
How would you feel!?”
Coming apart at the seams
of age now realizing different dreams

The last person you want to be is no one
Lost track of the definition of fun
June’s coming
Enjoy the sun
But for now
take the casualties as they come

–Jude Lally,
The View from Down Here (2010)
Accents Publishing

More from The View from Down Here and Jude Lally:

• “Parking at Keeneland”
• “Relapse” 
• “Confined”
• Writing Challenge: “Tolerance and Greed” by Jude Lally
• “In the Past”

Jude Lally writes and recites poetry as an outlet for his creative needs and as a means of enlightening, inspiring, engaging and entertaining listeners. Fortunately, Jude’s main source of inspiration in his writing is easily accessible; unfortunately, so many places in the world are not: in 1998 Jude was diagnosed with a rare, degenerative neuromuscular disease called Friedrich’s Ataxia. Jude received a BA in Business Administration in May of 2006. Jude is a member of the poetry group Poezia, occasionally attends The Poet’s Supper and the Artcroft writer’s group outside of Carlisle, KY, and is a regular presenter at the Holler Poets series events.