HUSH, YOU DON’T KNOW NO BETTER
(This is for all the non-disabled people)

When we’re driving our wheelchairs,
and you say, “Move it. Move it,”
but our eyes and hands won’t cooperate.
Hush, you don’t know no better.

When we’re in the classroom,
and you say, “Time to go. Time to go,”
but we’re in the middle of a project.
Hush, you don’t know no better.

When we’re getting on the toilet,
and you say, “Push your butt. Push your butt,”
but we’re pushing our butts.
Hush, you don’t know no better.

When I’m talking with my speech device,
and you say, “Repeat that. Repeat that,”
but your interruptions make me press the wrong keys.
Hush, you don’t know no better.

When people with autism do things their way,
and you say, “Hurry up. Hurry up,”
but they can’t understand you.
Hush, you don’t know no better.

When we’re eating slow,
and you say, “Eat faster. Eat faster,”
but we begin choking on our food.
Hush, you don’t know no better.

When somebody is misspelling something,
and you say, “It’s easy. It’s easy,”
but I say, “Don’t force me to spell. Just help me.”
Hush, you don’t know no better.

Everyone says, “Be patient!”
But I have to be patient with you.

Monique Renee Harris was born as an African American woman with cerebral palsy. Sun Magazine, Magnets & Ladders, Wordgathering, URevolution, Dryland, and Seeing Beyond the Surface have published her work. Two Sisters Writing & Publishing selected her essay “My Journey” as a winner of its contest “Your Voice Deserves to Be Heard—People with Physical Disabilities.” Spoonie Press nominated her essay “Aging with Spastic Cerebral Palsy” for a Best of the Net Award. In 2019, she self-published a poetry and art book, Strength and Tragedy: The Mystery of the Blue Lady. She lives in Emeryville, California, with her son.