The Dots: A Poem for My Hero

Sophie has participated in our Buddy and STEP Programs and will soon begin training at the Center as an adult student. We are also very proud that she is a member of the Louisiana Association of Blind Students (LABS) Board for our state affiliate. Here at LCB, we loudly proclaim an undeniable truth--that Braille Rocks! Check out Sophie's poem below for her wonderfully-stated perspective on this timeless and priceless code that continues to bring literacy and independence nearly two centuries after it was first developed by the intrepid French gentleman for whom it is named.

The Dots: A Poem for My Hero

By Sophie Trist

In France, a young man works late into the night.

No candle burns beside him, for he needs no light.

Since the age of three, he has had no sight.

He feels his way in the dark

guided by nothing but a dream.

A dream of opening doors,

of opening the world.

He knows there are others like him,

others who do not see.

He knows that the written word is closed to them.

So he works late into the night, creating the dots.

When he finishes, the dots are only six in number, but they are infinite.

They create all words, all stories, all things.

The young man's name is Louis Braille.

In America, a young girl works late into the night.

No candle burns beside her, for she needs no light.

Since the day she was born, she has had no sight.

The young man is long dead,

a hero lost to the ages,

but his dots and his dream remain,

carried forth by the young girl, for whom all doors are now open.

With his dots, she creates worlds.

Dragons fly over snowy mountains,

mermaids swim in frothing seas,

sorcerers use their esoteric magic,

warrior queens fight for their thrones.

The young girl would not be the passionate writer she is if not for the dots.

Though they are as small as grains of sand, they are everything to her.

Because of those six dots and their infinite combinations, this young girl can become anything.

The young girl's name is Sophie Trist.