Explore 2 Haiku- Katie Harmon

 “Normal”/“Abnormal”

Stigmaphile or stigmaphobe

The binary is fake

 

Katie Harmon, Queer Theory, Fall 2023

Explore 3 Haikus- Katie Harmon

“An identity”

“Always a social statement”

“Mocking everyone”

(Quotes from the RuPaul article)

“Equality state”

Eye-roll, bullshit, lip service

Prove it with a law

(Referencing Wyoming’s low score on the  State Equality Index)

 

Katie Harmon, Queer Theory, Fall 2023

On My Body

 Module 4 submission.

On My Body

Dust, slime, scaley skin.

Take it for granted

Fight against it

Decide it is not there for me

When my back doesn’t have my back.

Alter it, shape it, moon sand in my hands

When I woke up from the surgery I cried

And I said I was just happy but I cry when I

Come out of anesthesia- did after I broke the bone beneath my eye.

It reminds me too much of the other times when my body

Has been in other’s hands.

My hands in others.

My hands on my chest, absentmindedly

But this is about the body as a whole.

Working moving parts

Womanly- not if I have anything to do with it.

I shape my body but recognize that my body shapes me

And the world shapes it

And at any moment—

The world is not in our control, nor is it in mine,

And if the world controls my body

Or if things are fated then—

Well.

I am not good with change but

It is nice

And scary

To know things might not always be this way.

Art Walk of Life

There is a young women named Maya. She had a unique way of navigating the world, and despite being differently abled, she had an indomitable spirit. She was able to embrace her disability and use it as an essential part of her identity.

One day, Maya went on an adventure to create an art exhibit. She wanted to showcase the talents from artists in all walks of life. She pictured a space where disability isn't a limitation, rather a source for creativity and a strength.

Maya began to gather a diverse group of artists, each with their own abilities and disabilities. She recruited Sam, a hearing impaired painter; Mia, a sculptor with limited mobility, and many others. Each artist used their disability to express there art to an unknown level of expertise.

As her exhibit came together, she came across multiple challenges, but took to each one with grace and dignity. She designed ramps, for wheelchair accessibility, braille descriptions, organized sign language interpreters, and made the exhibit a home of inclusivity.

When Maya's exhibit opened, people from all walks of life gathered to observe the creativity and talent from the diverse group of artists. Maya's vision had come to life. This empowerment journey she declared was "cripping." She saw her exhibit as a symbol for empowerment and as a reminder to embrace differences that can lead to extraordinary accomplishments. Her exhibit inspired all that attended to leave a lasting impact wherever they go. Her exhibit reinforced the idea that every individual, regardless of ability, has the power to create a change.

Maya and her exhibit are a beacon of hope that teach the world that embracing and celebrating differences could transform more than individuals and communities, but the entire world. Maya started her exhibit so that she could foster a society where everyone is valued and included.

Edin.

 EDIN.

To speak of Eve's beguiling fruits, but fail to see the garden

Rich, wild, and alive in truth 

beyond the rigid vines of society’s facade

They pluck and sample, what mercurial things

While trampling upon the earth which they were birthed.

To cry upon, yet curse the sweet nectar’s taste

Dizzied  under such warm embrace.

The gates are locked, the fruit removed

Yet flavors linger on the tongue

But still the seeds have been planted

From which the garden we have come

Now lie the field of wilted wings and other mercurial things.

I wrote this poem about the hypersexuality of females within the context of the garden of Edin.

seeing me.

 Module 6 submission.

First, I saw disgust.

Vomiting at the mention of me,

Twisted characters and caricatures.

Then, I saw me.

A reflection, a mirror.

A window into another life that was a window into mine.

My mind swirled. Then it clicked.

Could this be me?

A beautiful heart.

A helping hand, a dynamic representation

Of the ways in which I lived, sprinkled here and there,

Surrounded by a story that was so rich and

Full.

Rich and full.

A life that could be mine,

A world that I could find

Whenever I needed it.

Disability Haikus

 

Disability

It’s not a pity, or shame 

Just a human thing

My son, his wheelchair

No, he is not “bound” by it

But made free by it

How does heaven look?

Not abled, “healed” bodies

But disabled joy

 

 

Katie Harmon, she/her

Queer Theory Fall 2023