Louis Braille: You Gave Us Light

Generation after generation through Thousands of years we have traveled In a tunnel of darkness Ruing and Cursing our stars Learning to live in a sightless world Making mental images of things We could feel and sense and touch Until you were driven by Your inquisitiveness to discover The realm of thoughts and ideas Scattered around you through reading Like millions of people with normal vision Were blessed to do for ages You won over your visual disability And invented an amazing new language Carrying your name- Braille Which made reading and writing possible For those sailing in the same boat Ferrying hapless voyagers devoid of eyesight In the darker side of the world So, On behalf of myself And on behalf of the parents and teachers Brothers, sisters and friends Of visually impaired men and women (Who were used to being called blind sarcastically) In all parts of this planet I kneel down and bow my head To pay my respects to you And to the language of finger reading That you gave to us close to two centuries ago And known to us as Braille We remain for ever grateful to you For you gave us light.