''The mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that 'water' meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, joy set it free!''


—Helen Keller


The Story of my Life [1902]

It shines like diamonds,
it glimmers
with refracting,
glossy rainbows
of light.

Its clear depths draw me in.
I sit, watching,
knowing it will always
be there.
A luminescent beam
cuts through the crystalline pool
and lands on the table
as it shows me the world.

Meanwhile
people are
dying.
People are
dying.

I thought I knew everything,
but at last
I find beauty
in a glass of water.