Kay Watkins is a deaf writer in her 60’s and retired from doing occupational therapy for 40 years. Cochlear implants have enabled her to enjoy hearing sounds, especially birds which she also loves watching. Kay loves music, nature, all forms of art & especially enjoys combining photography and poetry. She has an amazing family and husband she has been with over a decade who has helped her with her new journey in the hearing world. You can find out more about that journey in a short documentary called “KAY” in AdamGundersheimer.com under his directing section.
“Thank you for sharing my journey with me!”

BRIDGE TO….WHERE?

There was an old wooden bridge
Next to a newer one of steel
Used by cars using their phone maps     
By the steering wheel 

This old bridge was what intrigued me
It was to go....where?
It seemed to lead nowhere
But perhaps, just perhaps
It would lead anywhere

The road less traveled?
The scenic route?
Perhaps just to get to the other bridge?
Or on a "walk-about"?

Or was it the safe one for bikers
For hikers
For dog walkers
Friendly talkers

But still...
there's something about that bridge
Lending an air of mystery
I'm not from there to know 
About its history

Which is fine.
Some things I don't need to know.
Like this old wooden bridge...
Where does it go?

Perhaps to nowhere
Or perhaps to SOMEwhere
Or best of all
To anywhere.....
I choose to go 

Photos & poem
by Kay Watkins

PERCEPTIONS

How do we perceive rain
With hunched over shoulders turning our back to it
Or embracing it 
Allowing it to wash away our pain

How do we perceive bullying & rejections
With bitterness, fighting back 
Or teaching us compassion
Accepting that everyone has their imperfections

How do we perceive a loved one's impending death
With our own misery & inability to face it
Or with grace & strength to be at their side until their last breath

Adversity comes in so many ways
Will we let it defeat us or learn from it 
Becoming stronger from it every day

It's all in how the situation is  perceived
How we react to the situation
To the news we received
The choice is ours how to react
There IS the strength & ability to make it a positive fact

So c'mon now, instead of letting it make you seethe
Reframe your thinking
And just deeply
B R E A T H E

ROOTS

So many kinds of trees....
60,065 to be exact
Short, tall, thin trunks, huge ones
With numerous shapes of leaves

One thing though 
They have in common are the roots
Needed to keep them grounded 
And nutrients to receive

Roots are amazing things, 
A beauty to see
Some going way deep down inside 
others seem mostly on top of the ground
Looking twisted, gnarled, tangled all around
Yet they're so strong, so mighty
Keeping the tree safe & sound

The leaves can fall
The branches snap, 
The trunk can sway
Yet because of the roots, 
That tree is here to stay

Yes, they can get afflicted with disease
Lightning can also strike it down
But for the most part 
Because of the roots, 
The tree stays in the ground

How often do I, too, sway
Blowing to & fro
I may wander & get hurt, ill or lost
Feeling there's no place to go
Yet if I look to my roots
And know I'm firmly planted down
Remember those lessons 
My parents taught, 
I, too will be safe & sound

So take a look and really see
All those roots on all those trees
Perhaps you too can find 
This lesson that'll give you 
Some peace of mind

Even if you had a horrible childhood
With parents that didn't love you like they should
You can still learn from that how NOT to be
And with gnarled twisted roots,
Still be a beautiful tree

BEAMS OF METAL

Bridges, tunnels, passing through
Crisscrossing beams of metal Surrounding cars of metal
Encompassing people inside, flesh & bones

Bones, veins, nerves crisscrossing within the body
Much like beams crisscrossing to make the bridge
If one beam comes loose, most likely nothing happens... 
at least not quite then...
But the beams that are supported by that one... 
eventually they too will erode & come loose
And if not fixed, come crashing down

Amazing thing those works of metal...
the craftsmanship, time, toil of sweat & attention to detail making those bridges...

I usually don't think about it as we drive through...
Just take them for granted & trust it'll hold me in my car up over the water or underpass we're driving over
Yet someone's keeping an eye on it with their inspections & maintenance
As they should! 

And so should we...
Realizing our bodies, too are like those works of metal...
not to be taken for granted
Keep an eye on it with as much care & diligence we'd want given to those beams of metal we drive through