Name: Brandon Pittman
Age: 27
Type of MD: Beckers MD
Location: Greenville, NC
Poem category: Sentimental

Motivation

How can I succeed
In a world full of obstacles
Back in 93
Don’t remember the day
A doctor told me I had MD
My mom cried wondering is this how its supposed to be
My son has a disability
To young to process the diagnosis
Just knew I was different
And so did they
Scrapped knees cause I would fall when I tried to play
My mom would pray
Asking for answers
No cancer or anything fatal
Just an enemy trying to disable
The construct of me
J. Brandon P.
Through the years
(more…)

Name: Jennifer Roberts
Age: 20
Type of MD: Ullrich Muscular Dystrophy
Location: Sapulpa, Oklahoma
Poem Category: General

I Wish

I wish people would see me, not my disability.
I wish people would look at my face when they talk to me.
But instead they look at my chair and they just stare.
Why can’t people see what’s on the inside and not what’s on the outside?
Why can’t they just look at me and not the disease?
(more…)

Name: Kevin Rudolph
Age: 35
Type of MD: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Location: Louisville, Kentucky
Poem Category: Love

Sunshine

Sheila, sweet, kind,aura beaming
like a cold winter brightened and warmed by the sun.
Her friends call her Sunshine,
smile flows ear to ear brightening around her with a never ending angelic glow
releasing her inner beauty,
accentuating her outer beauty,
penetrating me through her glowing smile and twinkling green eyes
sending a warm feeling that chills me
like getting hit by a cool spring breeze in the winter.
A burst of warmth of cool tingles rushes through my body
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Name: Chris Cusack
Age: 40
Type of MD: SMA 2/3
Location: Watford, UK
Poetry category: humour

GOD & COFFEE

This morning God stuck my Coffee mug to the table
So I tugged and tugged as hard as I was able

Until he finally let my bloody cup go
In a torrent of boiling hot scalding Joe

Sometimes I’m really inclined to think God’s sense of humour bloody stinks

So sitting here dripping with warm coffee
My entire family staring at me

I think I should make a stand against God
And let the world know he’s sometimes a sod

(more…)

Name: Heather Richardson
Age: 30
Type of MD: Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
Location: Jacksonville, NC
Poem Category: General

Winter Flower

In a blur of white
I peek out at the world.
A spot of color
In a dreary existence.

My bottom stands strong,
If not tall.
My arms outstretched
For others to catch me.

My color shows my strength.
I glance out at the sky.
The bare treetops look down
On me with disdain.

They wish me to be the same;
To change for them.
“I am who I am,” I say.
“I am who I will remain.”

I have survived your dreary existence.
You blend into nothingness;
Into malcontent;
Until you feel it right to grow again.

(more…)

Name: Steven Heinig
Age: 40
Type of MD: Congenital Myopathy
Location: New York, New York
Poem Category: General

“Attitude”

It could be this
it could be that
it could be summer
it could be fall
it could rain on water
there may be sunshine
on your candle,
on your light bulb,
on your magazine
but this is that and that is this and that is that
a simple matter of fact is a matter of form
but does it really change to measure change,
to see change,
to make change,
(more…)

Name: Kristin Brady
Age: 59
Type of MD: Myotonic MD
Location: South Bend, IN
Name of Poem: Indiana Blues

I’ve got the Indiana Blues,
As blue as a woman can be.
Got the Indiana Blues,
As Blue as a woman can be.
Cause the Indiana Casinos,
got the best of me.

Can’t go to the doctor,
Cause I’m always broke.
Never can see a doctor,
and that ain’t no joke.
Cause the Indiana casinos,
always make me broke.

(more…)

Entry Name: Cara Gilsig
Age: 34
Tye of MD: MMD 2
Location: Pointe Claire, Quebec
Poem Category: General

Cara’s Poem

Muscles are strong
as they are young
Pain moves in
as if poked with a pin
Doctors agree
we all have a plea
Help us survive
to have happy lives
We all have hearts
that cannot be torn apart
We yell and scream
(more…)

After a slight delay due to a busted server, we are continuing our Poetry Contest. We’ll be posting the best poems we received and you will be able to vote on a winner in the next two weeks. Thanks to everyone who entered. All poems will be up within the next few days!

Technorati Tags: poems, poetry contest, MDP United, Muscular Dystrophy, vote, games

Burton, Michigan, July 1, 2008 – Muscular Dystrophy Patients United (MDP United), a not for profit organization that seeks to help those with Muscular Dystrophy live more independent lives, has teamed up with Pop Cap Games to offer a contest specifically for those with Muscular Dystrophy. Studies are showing that those with muscle weakness and various other disabilities are maintaining and sometimes increasing strength by playing casual computer games.

With so many individuals with Muscular Dystrophy dealing with persistent muscle weakness these games can make a major difference in the lives of individuals with one of these debilitating muscle wasting diseases. That’s why the MDP United Poetry Contest will offer products, provided courtesy of Pop Cap Games – an online leader in casual computer gaming, as a prize for those with Muscular Dystrophy who enter the contest. The goal is to provide the winners of the contest with a prize that is not only fun, but is also going to help the winner’s muscles over the long term.

Beginning on July 4, 2008 and ending on August 15, 2008, the MDP United Poetry Contest is specifically designed for those with Muscular Dystrophy who are over the age of 12. Entrants into the contest can live in any country in the world so long as their entry is in English and their computers are compatible with games that come from a manufacturer in the United States. When you enter you should list the form of Muscular Dystrophy you have and the category in which you’re entering your poem. Please only enter one poem per person.

Entry Guidelines:

-Must be at least 12 years old
-Must have one of the 40+ neuromuscular diseases covered under Muscular Dystrophy
-Entry must be in English
-Limit one poem entered per person
-Can live in any country around the world
-Must enter before August 15, 2008
-No Adult Themed Poetry (sex, drugs, etc.) is allowed
-All poems must be 100% original by the person with Muscular Dystrophy – If we find out this rule has been broken you will be disqualified

Preliminary winners for each category will be judged and chosen by August 31, 2008. You can enter your poetry into one of the following categories:

(more…)