I do not know the author of this poem or where or when I got it, but I have always liked it.

When they told me that my child was blind,
That he would never see, I said,
“Then I will be his eyes, he’ll see through mine,
I’ll lead him by the hand and comfort him
As long as I shall live.”
As long as I shall live? Then when I die
He’ll be twice blinded. No!
My son must not depend on me.
Man does not see with eyes alone:
I must find schools, and teachers who will bring to him
The message of his ears and hands and feeling fingertips.
It will be my task to give him courage,
Love of all living things,
Desire for truth, so that at last
My son may stand alone, serene,
A man, ready for all that life may offer him,
And by his spirit’s never-dimming light
My son shall see.

Mary Raymond