“In Between”
By Jessica Rossomando
Hearing?
No.
Deaf?
No.
Something in between?
Maybe?
I am neither deaf nor hearing,
I am neither fluent in ASL nor English,
I am a part of both worlds but belong to none.
I sit on the fence between the deaf and hearing,
Hoping to fall to one side or the other, but never do.
I am what blurs this line for both sides,
While my view stays crystal clear.
I lean toward the hearing side,
Not because I feel I belong;
No, more because,
At this point,
I have no one else.
If I were to be surrounded by the deaf side,
I would probably lean that way too,
Again, not because I feel I belong,
But because there is nothing else.
To both sides,
I belong to the other.
I am too hearing for the deaf;
But too deaf for the hearing.
I am not the elderly,
Who lose their hearing, gradually, over time.
I am not the exchange student,
Who hears fine just doesn’t comprehend.
I am the teenager,
Who has never known true hearing or true deafness.
I am the native,
Who cannot hear and cannot comprehend.
I sit on the line between worlds;
Striving to feel any sense of belonging,
But receive none.
I cannot simply check a box:
Hearing?
Deaf?
I am in between.
