"Mark O'Brien," (R.I.P).

This man: he was a man
Born 31 July, 1949
Like any other person, with a body that
was intact with everything working fine
He grew-up like every other kid, doing
things that they enjoyed: going to the
movies, watching baseball games on the t.v
and going to the beach

Up till the age of 6 everything was normal
He was going to school and making friends
like every other boy
Getting good grades and becoming interested
in girls

But suddenly and without warning he contracted
a viral-infection that for the remainder of
his duration here would confine him to an,
"Iron Lung,"
Poliomyelitis was the culprit that disabled
him, leaving him bed-ridden

But this didn't keep him down entirely cause
he attended, "UC Berkley," with his iron lung
in tow, published poetry and articles and
became an advocate for disabled people
He was an author of several volumes of poetry

He wrote an autobiography entitled, "How I
Became a Human Being: A Disabled Man's Quest
for Independence
He also co-founded a small publishing house,
the lemonade factory dedicated to the poetry
written by the people with disabilities

Mark O'Brien a man who refused to let his plight
get him down was a man admirable for carrying-on
thru adversity
A man whose final desire in life for himself was
to find passion and comfort in the embrace of a
woman
Which at the first was realized through his sex-
therapist and then his life partner Susan Fernbach
for his remaining five years

Hooray to you Mark O'Brien for not giving-up hope
when life dealt you a hard blow
But you carried-on and succeeded, wrote your poetry
inspired countless others and found love
May you rest in peace

    31 July, 1949 - 4 July, 1999