I’m joining the Disability March because I have been trained to ignore or disregard my own disabilities & the disabilities of others. I spent most of my life with illnesses that were not just invisible but normalized. I was in pain because I was a “woman” or else I was exaggerating or med seeking or crazy. I am participating here for the many others that are afraid, and hurting, and alone; for my friends and family that are disabled, too; for the girl and woman I was before, and for the person I have grown to be. I protest because I can’t & won’t stand by & watch the impending administration destroy all that is good in this country. I join to hold my hand out to others and keep moving forward.  

Natasha Murdock is an MFA candidate in Poetry at Arizona State University. Her work has been published most recently in BlazeVox, Four Chambers Magazine, and Danse Macabre. Birth Plan, her full-length thesis manuscript was a 2016 National Poetry Series finalist. Her hobbies include rereading Harry Potter, watching Star Wars while pretending to fold laundry, and fighting the patriarchy with experimental poetry.