Kajsa
This part of the series is all about my friend Kajsa. Kajsa Wingerup was born with a condition called ‘Hip Dysplasia’, which results in dislocated hips, as well as a lot of mental and physical pain and turmoil. Although healed and now twenty-two years old, Kajsa got a tattoo on top of the scar that was left, both reminding her of her condition when she was a baby, and complementing it. I wrote a poem to encapsulate the story
Kajsa
A long time ago now,
November 2001,
The memories are foggy, faded, distant,
But the trauma will not be undone.
All those years ago, one body that day,
She has evolved and grown since then,
A delicate infant, small and bare,
When would she cry once again?
Just above the thigh, not far from her waist,
An array of leaves sit near,
They hug and caress, chasing away all from before,
Yet hold the memories dear.
A delicate little infant,
Soundly she sleeps,
The agony of dislocation creeps in,
But she does not cry nor does she weep.
The pain and discomfort,
Slowly,
It seeps.
Now she stands tall at twenty-one years,
All that’s left is those leaves over a scar,
No pain,
No tears,
No thoughts of discomfort, embarrassment or fear,
No, it’s just confidence and pride,
Anything else, is not welcome here.
