Aug 9: The Day They Left

I am crippled.
They carry me on their shoulders,
one by one.
They were kind
and funny;
and now I'm blind.
They read for me,
word per word.
They were patient
and polite;
Now I am deaf.
They guide my touch
inch per inch.
They were soft
though at times crude.

And now i'm grown;
too heavy to be carried around,
too deaf to be read upon,
too dumb to be guided.