Chariot

"Chariot"
by Russell Kabir
Published in OU Medical School's literary anthology,
Blood in Thunder: Musings on the Art of Medicine 2008, (pg. 83)

This is not a wheelchair.

No, something so banal
could never serve my intentions
for this life.

It is a chariot.

My vessel, my spacecraft.

My stallion galloping gallantly
through the harsh terrain
towards El Dorado.

Searching for the wealth of mind
we all desire.

Some call it truth.
A proof of existence.

Whatever abstraction we bestow it,
it remains the one thing we all want
but cannot touch.

You may call me disabled,
but what does that make you?
Are you any more able
to feel the intangible?

To me, we are alike.
Except you use your legs
and tire and sweat,
while I enjoy the ride.

You may look at me the ways you do,
I won't judge you, whisper or wonder.
For I've realized a gilded perspective
that keeps me from sinking under.

The dirt of the earth is vast,
and its rarities so few and lamentable.
It just takes a little digging to see,
the shine of a precious metal.