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The Poetry of Injury: Inside Down Syndrome & Kimani

By T.S. Poetry 13 Comments


Kimani is a four-year-old girl with Down syndrome and a brain injury. She is visually impaired, wildly impulsive, and very cute. She is unable to express herself with words, and thus I am left to wonder about her…

Always I wonder what she sees, what she knows. Always I wonder who she is on the inside.

If I could paint her brain it would look like this…

poetry of injury

And if I could paint her heart, it would look like this…

poetry of injury

And if I could paint her soul, it would look like this…

And if I could paint a little Kimani inside herself, it would look like this…

poetry of injury

But I did not paint those pictures. It was Kimani who painted herself from the inside out.

Post by The Unknown Contributor. Reprinted with permission.

Browse more posts on Art and Disabilities
Browse more posts on Down Syndrome
_____________________________

sun-shine-down-280-high-res “Gillian Marchenko’s Sun Shine Down is a moving account of the birth of her third daughter, Polina. She describes her depression after Polly’s birth and her own difficulty in loving her child. Beautifully written, this memoir is hopeful without being glib.”

—Susan Olasky, World magazine

Browse Sun Shine Down

 

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Filed Under: Art, Art and Disabilities, Down syndrome, poetry, visual poetry

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Comments

  1. Will Willingham says

    January 7, 2013 at 8:08 pm

    TUC, every time I look at this, I think I can figure out what, or how, she did it. And then I look at it again and see how the straight lines split and peel back, or the part that looks like a fist, or the tiny bit of orange emerging at the bottom and I know I don’t have any idea what I’m talking about.

    Good golly. I could look at this all night. I’d be just as amazed six hours from now.

    Reply
  2. L. L. Barkat says

    January 7, 2013 at 8:54 pm

    Just beautiful. Truly. Your words, a poem. Her painting, a poem without words.

    Reply
  3. Daniel Niblock says

    February 1, 2013 at 12:26 pm

    This is beautiful and remarkable artwork. Each one is a masterpiece.

    Reply
  4. Karen Swallow Prior says

    March 6, 2013 at 11:59 am

    Wow. I did not see that coming. Just wow.

    Reply
  5. Donna says

    March 6, 2013 at 12:29 pm

    Every time I see this I am speechless. In January it blew me away. And now, again in March. I am looking forward to this book….

    Reply
    • L. L. Barkat says

      March 6, 2013 at 12:31 pm

      The book is Gillian Marchenko’s. 🙂

      This post is by another parent, but it is a view into that world, which we feel is powerful and a great introduction to what will be coming from Gillian.

      Reply
      • Donna says

        March 6, 2013 at 1:01 pm

        Ahhhhh …. gotcha! Looking forward to Gillian’s book. This post… just amazing. Every time I look at the images I notice something else inside.

        Reply
  6. SimplyDarlene says

    October 25, 2014 at 1:07 pm

    Somehow I missed this post earlier in the year – seeing it now after following links in LL’s HP article. Kaleidoscope of beauty inside out upside down turns the eyes of my heart.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Down Syndrome Awareness Month: Michael's Colors | says:
    October 8, 2013 at 8:01 am

    […] See Kimani’s Art. Kimani is a child with Down syndrome and a severe brain injury. […]

    Reply
  2. Down Syndrome Awareness Month: Uncovering Pure Joy | says:
    October 29, 2013 at 6:54 am

    […] at their sisters, they don’t see Down syndrome at all… they see only Masha, or Autumn, or Kimani. They see people, not a syndrome, and when that happens for you, I will know that I have done my job […]

    Reply
  3. Down Syndrome Awareness Month: Lunch at Pizza Hut - says:
    October 3, 2014 at 8:22 pm

    […] Creative Commons, via Flickr. In-post photo from The Unknown Contributor, with her daughter Kimani. Kimani lives with Down syndrome and a severe brain injury. Story by The Unknown […]

    Reply
  4. Down Syndrome: Poetry, Painting, Perspective | Down Syndrome: Poetry, Painting, Perspective | Social Dashboard says:
    October 24, 2014 at 7:31 pm

    […] with Down syndrome–not the literal eyes, but the ways of seeing. It is a hard beauty at times, a poetry of injury. Overall, we are not trying to definitively answer the perennial questions, but rather to step back […]

    Reply
  5. Down Syndrome: Poetry, Painting, Perspective - GANGUPON says:
    October 24, 2014 at 8:06 pm

    […] Down syndrome–not the literal eyes, but the ways of seeing. It is a hard beauty at times, a poetry of injury. Overall, we are not trying to definitively answer the perennial questions, but rather to step back […]

    Reply

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