BRAILLE

Rich Little, the great impersonator,

could do a John Wayne like no other, 

swagger and all.

And a “Tricky Dick” Nixon to a tee,

both hands held high in peace signs.

But did he ever do Morse Code?

I don’t think so.

I have a friend who can,

who did one night, 

all of a sudden, at a dinner party.

He took us by surprise when he

started skatting the “dits” and “dahs”

like a Beat Boxer, Satchmo and Ella 

all in one, as if the tones came straight

from the systole and diastole 

of own his heart.

Before the laughter had a chance

to die down, I said:

Now do Braille!

You should've seen the look on his face.

He went nearly pale. 

Then completely silent.

I stumped him.

I stole his thunder.

I thought I was so clever at the time.

But then later realized

it was really more of a question

for me than him—one that

I have been trying to

sort out for some time:

How do you take the sense of something 
that touches you deeply

and translate it into a form

that is so palpable

that another can feel it also,

like a language written out 

in goosebumps.