The Daily Boost #578

Be like the otters

Raymond Luczak performs his ASL poem “Otters,” with voiceover and subtitles in English and American Sign Language Gloss.

OTTERS
Raymond Luczak

[English]

in a documentary
they dove in
into the burble
of river, braiding
around each other
their wet fur
shining in the sun
their eyes twinkling
watching them
I wished my hearing siblings
had been more like them
always pulling me in
to cavort with them

[ASL gloss]

me watch-watch d-o-c-u-m-e-n-t-a-r-y
{creature-wriggle creature-wriggle}
water {cascade-left-right-down}
{creature-dive-down creature-rise-up
around-each-other
fur-lining-arms-chest} wet
sun {on-me}
chest-shine-shine
eyes-shine-shine
me-wish hearing brother-sister
same-same
{creature-dive-down creature-rise-up}
come-on-come-on
join play-play


(Note: Poem text varies slightly between the video subtitles and the printed versions.)

(My thanks to Raymond Luczak, via Poets.org.)

The Gentle Nudge

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