Little Fledgling

By Walter Kadiki

This poem entitled ‘Little Fledgling’, composed in Australian Sign Language, is a poignant portrayal of my vulnerability growing up as a Deaf person – just as vulnerable as a little fledgling is from predators. I paint a deeply disturbing journey of growing up as Deaf in a hearing-dominated society, whose perspective is that Deafness is an impairment, and that the inability to hear interferes with a person’s ability to respond to environmental cues, to adapt, to communicate and achieve what defines us as human. Vulnerable just like a fledgling trapped, its flight feathers being ripped off.