poetry – Modcast — Accessibility, Literature, and Mustachios

Poem: “Lip-Reading” by Leigh Ann

4 by 3 grid showing different cartoon mouth shapes for English phonemes. Top left to right: A, E, I; then an O shape; then a mouth labeled C, D, N, S, T, X, Y, Z; and a mouth for G, K. Second row: a shape for L; then a pair of pressed lips for B, M, P; then a mouth for F, V; then a mouth for Ee. Bottom row: mouth shape showing the T-H sound; then a mouth for C-H, J, and Sh; then one for U; and last for Q and W.

It’s like putting together a jigsaw puzzle With no reference picture and, sometimes, With no edge pieces. I stare hard at moving lips, always a phoneme (or two, or three, or four) behind the conversation, While my brain plays the matching game With puzzle pieces that constantly change Colors and shapes and get lost among Continue reading “Poem: “Lip-Reading” by Leigh Ann”