Content Warning: dark themes
Daniel Sluman - a disabled dream
christ
to never swallow a pill
to have a body that barely lifts a whisper
to never find yourself alone
watching the first honeyed light of the day run
to dream of a body held together like a cloud
falling into rain to gently touch the rooftops
of ruined factories a thousand tender places
at once to have a body not in need of saving
that doesn’t click on & off through the night
like this broken fan the side effects of our drugs
like badly-cut holes leaking light
over the carpet in agony in doubt christ
to never need to qualify our love
in bed at night every tomorrow pressing down
firming almost hard enough to touch
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Daniel Sluman is a 34-year-old disabled poet and disability rights activist. He co-edited the first major UK Disability poetry anthology Stairs and Whispers: D/deaf and Disabled Poets Write Back, and he has published two poetry collections with Nine Arches Press, his second, the terrible was released in 2015. He has appeared widely in UK poetry journals and his third collection of poetry single window is to be published by Nine Arches Press in Autumn 2021. He tweets @danielsluman
Photograph: Freedom by Arun Kapur
Enigmatic. Charismatic. Passionate. Lover of life and all truth that binds us together. Arun Kapur is a mental health advocate that uses the medium of the arts to raise awareness of stigmas and well-being. Through poetry and film, he aims to amplify untold stories of unheard voices.