"Broken Ears”: Another Poem For Y’all | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

"Broken Ears”: Another Poem For Y’all

A spoken word piece transcribed for the people in the back— the ones who can’t hear it.

929
"Broken Ears”: Another Poem For Y’all
Oticon

You never understand how you really feel about a thing until you write about it.

I realized that I greatly dislike being hearing impaired. I realized that I’ve been living with my disability instead of overcoming it. I’ve realized that my complacency is what makes me handicapped, and if anything, this poem is the framework for a catalyst of change.

Enjoy, and may all your senses enjoy the world to its fullest.

Broken Ears

To the woman from Starbucks who called my hearing loss an excuse

for shitty customer service,

I hope you know that your

Grande Nonfat Vanilla Latte with two extra shots of espresso

was not a

Grande Nonfat Vanilla Latte with two extra shorts of espresso.


Maybe if God had heard my ten-year-old wish

for subtitles at the bottom of my eyes,

maybe if he didn’t curse people who speak in whispers

with the insane assumption that everyone can hear them just fine,

then maybe,

maybe I would have gotten your order in less time.


Conversations with me are like

laggy YouTube videos that you slowly lose interest in watching,

and I understand pressing refresh gets annoying

when I ask you to repeat yourself

more than once.


But I like to think the blacksmiths in my ears don’t get paid enough.

You see,

the outer ear captures sound waves

and sends them through the three bones of the

smithy’s middle ear shop:

he hammers the sound waves on an anvil and uses a stirrup

to knock them into the inner ear,

where everything falls apart.


Vestibular aqueduct syndrome.

When people ask what’s wrong with me,

I never give them a name to wrap

their pity around.

But jokingly explaining how I wish I could

replace the burned hair cells in my cochlea

with the hair on my head

doesn’t change the fact that I’m always

the last person to hear the punchline of a joke.


It doesn’t change the tightness of a tongue curled

around the trigger of machine gun apologizes

“Sorry, what was that again?”

“My bad, what did you say?”

“Whoops, sorry, didn’t catch that.”


What am I apologizing for?


The fact that until I got my hearing aids

I had no idea birds sang in the morning?

The fact that my life is a sitcom

in which I press an “audience laugh” button in

response to jokes I don’t hear?


To the woman from Starbucks who called my hearing loss an excuse

for shitty customer service,

know this:


I'm not afraid to admit that I never remember the

color of my lovers’ eyes

because I'm always too busy memorizing the wave of their smiles

while I'm reading their lips.


I'm not afraid to speak loudly

even if my r’s get lost in the slur

of prideful words.


I'm not afraid

To admit that I'm broken

Because all it means is that

I get to choose what to listen to

And believe me,

To the woman from Starbucks who called my hearing loss an excuse

for shitty customer service

Believe me,

I've got two broken ears

and one mouth

So when I decide what to listen to

It’s not you.

It’s not you.


** Check out another article I wrote if you want to understand why hearing loss sucks in bed. And yes, that means in bed.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Adulting

18 Things I Want To Do Now That I'm 18

I'm technically an adult, so I'm legally required to live a little, right?

1001
Happy Birthday Cake

For the entirety of my high school career, I was always seen as the goody-two-shoes. I never got in trouble with a teacher, I kept stellar grades, and when I wasn't doing extracurricular activities, I was at home studying. Even when I did go out, it was usually with a bunch of fellow band geeks. The night would end before 11:00 PM and the only controversial activity would be a fight based on who unfairly won a round of Apples-to-Apples when someone else clearly had a better card (I promise I'm not still holding a grudge).

Now that I'm officially an adult, I want to pursue some new things. I want to experience life in a way that I never allowed myself to do prior to entering college. These are the years that I'm supposed to embark on a journey of self-discovery, so what better way to do that than to create a bucket list?

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

10 Life Lessons from Christmas Classics

The holiday classics that shaped my life

605
10 Life Lessons from Christmas Classics
Flickr

The holiday season is full of stress, debt, and forced conversation. While we rush through the month of December, it's important to take a step back and enjoy the moments before they're gone. Most families love to watch Christmas movies, but these beloved films provide more than entertainment. Here are 10 life lessons that I've learned from the holiday classics we watch every year.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

15 Mind-Bending Riddles

Hopefully they will make you laugh.

199698
 Ilistrated image of the planet and images of questions
StableDiffusion

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Most Epic Aurora Borealis Photos: October 2024

As if May wasn't enough, a truly spectacular Northern Lights show lit up the sky on Oct. 10, 2024

20585
stunning aurora borealis display over a forest of trees and lake
StableDiffusion

From sea to shining sea, the United States was uniquely positioned for an incredible Aurora Borealis display on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, going into Friday, Oct. 11.

It was the second time this year after an historic geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Those Northern Lights were visible in Europe and North America, just like this latest rendition.

Keep Reading...Show less
 silhouette of a woman on the beach at sunrise
StableDiffusion

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide/suicidal thoughts.

When you are feeling down, please know that there are many reasons to keep living.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments