Caged Eyes

Fingers pointed, the occasional uneasy glare, avoidance

Awe-inspiring, yet the antithesis of awesome.

My sister, Makenna, 16, encounters these daily.

Makenna has Down’s Syndrome.

Down’s Syndrome does not reduce the humanity within the being,

Yet some don’t believe this to be true.

They act as if life is a zoo,

As if my sister is some caged animal on display for poking,

For name calling,

For anything they can do to hurt her.

Awesome is her will to charge through life with such optimism that scrutiny can’t leave a scratch on her.

Awesome is getting to wake up every day and witness that spark in her eyes that lights the fire of my life.

Awesome is seeing my sister free, far from any cage that others may force upon her.

Some say it’s obliviousness, that she isn’t aware of what others think…

I know they’re wrong.

I know my sister.

I know that this is Makenna being awesome.