Ayer murio Mattie Joseph Stepanek.. un poeta y un "hacedor de paz" de 13 años.
No se si alguien leera este post, hace tiempo que quise poner algo sobre Mattie.... quizas aunque haya muerto, aun estemos a tiempo de aprender de él.
El caso es que me recuerda muchisimo a Michael....
[Su nombre era Matte Joseph Stepanek]
Ayer me entere por el programa de Larry King que Mattie habia muerto.... Él decia que iba a vivir hasta los 101 años y que iba a casarse y tener una familia... por desgracia no podrá hacerlo por que murió de una enfermedad incurable Distrofia Muscular.
La madre de Mattie también tiene distrofia muscular, y no lo supo hasta que tuvo 4 hijos (los cuatro enfermos).
Pudo ir al colegio, hacer karate y vivir sin respirador y sin la silla hasta los 10 años, ya que entonces sufrió un ataque y estuvo a punto de morir.
Era poeta con solo 3 añitos y miraba la vida como un niño adulto que creia en la paz y la inocencia.
Si quereis leer la entrevista con Larry king, os dejo el link: AQUI
Os dejo algunas citas textuales y algunos poemas. (os lo pongo en ingles primero)
KING: And when you get sick, what happens? Like the last time you were in the hospital was for what?
M.J. STEPANEK: Well, the last time I was in the hospital, it started when I was having a lot of suffocating spells, and so we decided to put my trach back in. And my -- I was not circulating oxygen and blood correctly. So my lips and my fingers and my toes were all bursting apart and bleeding.
KING: Bleeding?
M.J. STEPANEK: Bleeding. And I was just dying. Sometimes I'll joke that I was a preteen zombie.
KING: Do you panic when you have this?
M.J. STEPANEK: Sometimes, yes. And sometimes, no. I don't panic when I'm living with it. But sometimes, in fact most of the time, I will panic. And I will not just panic, I'll get frustrated, and I'll think, "Why? And I want to breathe and help me." So it's really frustrating.
____________________
"I want to be a peacemaker. And I want to spread peace through public speaking and my poetry. And I believe that there are three easy choices to peace. And we have to choose them, and stick to them. We have to choose to make peace an attitude We have to want it, and make it something that truly matters inside of us."
____________________
Mattie has been writing poetry since he was three years old. "I write to express my thoughts and feelings," he explains. You hear the word "heartsongs" a lot in his work. "Your heartsong is your inner beauty," says Mattie. "It's the song in your heart that wants you to help make yourself a better person, and to help other people do the same. Everybody has one."
___________________
KING: So you're kind of fighting odds. Yet you're always -- every time I see you, you're up.
M.J. STEPANEK: Yes.
You know, I'm not -- everyone gets frustrated, everyone does. I mean it's human. I get frustrated; I get angry; I get sad; I have feelings too.
And what keeps me going, a big factor, is my mom who's always been there for me, and another huge factor is prayer. And I'm very close to God, and I feel that there is a heaven and you will move on. But we shouldn't waste our time here on earth; we should enjoy it while it lasts.
_________________
KING: What is it that you miss the most you'd like to do that other kids do?
M.J. STEPANEK: You know, it's kind of hard, because I really -- I see kids on their Rollerblades and their bikes and just running around, climbing trees, and I used to do that. And I loved doing that.
KING: You did? At one time?
M.J. STEPANEK: Yes. And kids will think, "Wow, he's so lucky to have a wheelchair. He gets to sit down all day." And kids will say, "Hey, can I take a ride in your wheelchair? That must be so fun."
And I say, "Hey, can I have all your muscles and take my trach out, so I can run around. Can I ..."
KING: It always looks better on the other side.
M.J. STEPANEK: Yes. And some kids say "Yes, sure." And then they hear about my disease and they reconsider. And some kids think, "You know what, maybe we shouldn't stay."
But you know what? When I did have not the trach, just the oxygen, I earned a black belt in martial arts. I did flips off the diving board; I would climb trees; I would run; I Rollerbladed. I did everything.
And you know what, even though it's sad that I can't do them anymore, I'm still happy that I know that I did them.
_________________
http://www.mdausa.org/images/mattie/mda2004_mattie&micah_sm2.jpg
(M.J. Stepanek y su perro "guia")
POEMAS
"Important Things"
When I grow up,
I think maybe I will be a snowman,
because when it snows outside,
I'll already be cold and like it.
And children will play with me and laugh and sing and dance all around me. And those are important things to have happen when you grow up.
"Rapture"
Have you witnessed the early morning,
right before the sun rises and the sky glows purple lava lamp?
The clouds are the dark,
floating lumps, and the still, gentle earth is to look upon.
"Hope haiku"
(poema que escribio tras el 11 de Septiembre de 2001)
Gentle and peaceful.
We are the children of one God yet so many faiths.
True, we are different.
Unique mosaics of life.
Still, we are the same.
United we are the festive fabric of life.
Divided we fall.
"About Heaven"
(Poema que escribio con 3 años.....)
Now I will tell you about heaven.
Where is heaven?
It is way over there.
And it is way over there.
And it is way over there, too. It is everywhere.
What does it look like?
It looks like a school.
And it looks like a farm.
And it looks like a home.
It looks like everything.
What does it sound like?
Well, I really don't know,
because I'm just a little big boy with a brother and another brother and sister and a friend who live in the everywhere and everything of heaven.
But perhaps heaven sounds like forever.
"I Am"
"I Am." I am black.
I am white.
I am all skins in between.
I am young.
I am old.
I am each age that has been.
I am scrawny.
I am well fed.
I am starving for attention.
I am famous.
I am cryptic.
I am hardly worth the mention.
I am short.
I am height.
I am any frame or stature.
I am smart. I am challenged.
I am striving for a future.
I am able. I am weak.
I am some strength.
I am none. I am being.
I am thoughts.
I am all things, said and done.
I am born.
I am dying.
I am dust of humble roots.
I am grace. I am pain.
I am labor of willed fruits.
I am a slave. I am free.
I am bonded to my life.
I am rich. I am poor.
I am wealth amid strife.
I am shadow. I am glory.
I am hiding from my shame.
I am hero. I am loser.
I am yearning for a name.
I am empty.
I am proud.
I am seeking my tomorrow.
I am growing.
I am fading.
I am hope amid the sorrow.
I am certain.
I am doubtful.
I am desperate for solutions.
I am leader.
I am student.
I am fate and evolutions.
I am spirit. I am voice.
I am memory not recalled.
I am chance.
I am cause.
I am effort, blocks and walls.
I am him.
I am her.
I am reasons without rhymes.
I am past. I am nearing.
I am present in all times.
I am many. I am no one.
I am seasoned by each being.
I am me.
I am you.
I am all souls now decreeing: I am.
Intentare traducirlo lo antes posible....
http://www.mdausa.org/images/mattie/mda2004 billy&mattie2_sm2.jpg
(Mattie con Billy Gilman que actuó para Michael en el Madison Square Garden)
Si quereia saber más sobre la enfermedad que se llevo a Mattie y a sus 3 hermanos entrad en http://www.mdausa.org/mattie/
No se si alguien leera este post, hace tiempo que quise poner algo sobre Mattie.... quizas aunque haya muerto, aun estemos a tiempo de aprender de él.
El caso es que me recuerda muchisimo a Michael....
[Su nombre era Matte Joseph Stepanek]
Ayer me entere por el programa de Larry King que Mattie habia muerto.... Él decia que iba a vivir hasta los 101 años y que iba a casarse y tener una familia... por desgracia no podrá hacerlo por que murió de una enfermedad incurable Distrofia Muscular.
La madre de Mattie también tiene distrofia muscular, y no lo supo hasta que tuvo 4 hijos (los cuatro enfermos).
Pudo ir al colegio, hacer karate y vivir sin respirador y sin la silla hasta los 10 años, ya que entonces sufrió un ataque y estuvo a punto de morir.
Era poeta con solo 3 añitos y miraba la vida como un niño adulto que creia en la paz y la inocencia.
Si quereis leer la entrevista con Larry king, os dejo el link: AQUI
Os dejo algunas citas textuales y algunos poemas. (os lo pongo en ingles primero)
KING: And when you get sick, what happens? Like the last time you were in the hospital was for what?
M.J. STEPANEK: Well, the last time I was in the hospital, it started when I was having a lot of suffocating spells, and so we decided to put my trach back in. And my -- I was not circulating oxygen and blood correctly. So my lips and my fingers and my toes were all bursting apart and bleeding.
KING: Bleeding?
M.J. STEPANEK: Bleeding. And I was just dying. Sometimes I'll joke that I was a preteen zombie.
KING: Do you panic when you have this?
M.J. STEPANEK: Sometimes, yes. And sometimes, no. I don't panic when I'm living with it. But sometimes, in fact most of the time, I will panic. And I will not just panic, I'll get frustrated, and I'll think, "Why? And I want to breathe and help me." So it's really frustrating.
____________________
"I want to be a peacemaker. And I want to spread peace through public speaking and my poetry. And I believe that there are three easy choices to peace. And we have to choose them, and stick to them. We have to choose to make peace an attitude We have to want it, and make it something that truly matters inside of us."
____________________
Mattie has been writing poetry since he was three years old. "I write to express my thoughts and feelings," he explains. You hear the word "heartsongs" a lot in his work. "Your heartsong is your inner beauty," says Mattie. "It's the song in your heart that wants you to help make yourself a better person, and to help other people do the same. Everybody has one."
___________________
KING: So you're kind of fighting odds. Yet you're always -- every time I see you, you're up.
M.J. STEPANEK: Yes.
You know, I'm not -- everyone gets frustrated, everyone does. I mean it's human. I get frustrated; I get angry; I get sad; I have feelings too.
And what keeps me going, a big factor, is my mom who's always been there for me, and another huge factor is prayer. And I'm very close to God, and I feel that there is a heaven and you will move on. But we shouldn't waste our time here on earth; we should enjoy it while it lasts.
_________________
KING: What is it that you miss the most you'd like to do that other kids do?
M.J. STEPANEK: You know, it's kind of hard, because I really -- I see kids on their Rollerblades and their bikes and just running around, climbing trees, and I used to do that. And I loved doing that.
KING: You did? At one time?
M.J. STEPANEK: Yes. And kids will think, "Wow, he's so lucky to have a wheelchair. He gets to sit down all day." And kids will say, "Hey, can I take a ride in your wheelchair? That must be so fun."
And I say, "Hey, can I have all your muscles and take my trach out, so I can run around. Can I ..."
KING: It always looks better on the other side.
M.J. STEPANEK: Yes. And some kids say "Yes, sure." And then they hear about my disease and they reconsider. And some kids think, "You know what, maybe we shouldn't stay."
But you know what? When I did have not the trach, just the oxygen, I earned a black belt in martial arts. I did flips off the diving board; I would climb trees; I would run; I Rollerbladed. I did everything.
And you know what, even though it's sad that I can't do them anymore, I'm still happy that I know that I did them.
_________________
(M.J. Stepanek y su perro "guia")
POEMAS
"Important Things"
When I grow up,
I think maybe I will be a snowman,
because when it snows outside,
I'll already be cold and like it.
And children will play with me and laugh and sing and dance all around me. And those are important things to have happen when you grow up.
"Rapture"
Have you witnessed the early morning,
right before the sun rises and the sky glows purple lava lamp?
The clouds are the dark,
floating lumps, and the still, gentle earth is to look upon.
"Hope haiku"
(poema que escribio tras el 11 de Septiembre de 2001)
Gentle and peaceful.
We are the children of one God yet so many faiths.
True, we are different.
Unique mosaics of life.
Still, we are the same.
United we are the festive fabric of life.
Divided we fall.
"About Heaven"
(Poema que escribio con 3 años.....)
Now I will tell you about heaven.
Where is heaven?
It is way over there.
And it is way over there.
And it is way over there, too. It is everywhere.
What does it look like?
It looks like a school.
And it looks like a farm.
And it looks like a home.
It looks like everything.
What does it sound like?
Well, I really don't know,
because I'm just a little big boy with a brother and another brother and sister and a friend who live in the everywhere and everything of heaven.
But perhaps heaven sounds like forever.
"I Am"
"I Am." I am black.
I am white.
I am all skins in between.
I am young.
I am old.
I am each age that has been.
I am scrawny.
I am well fed.
I am starving for attention.
I am famous.
I am cryptic.
I am hardly worth the mention.
I am short.
I am height.
I am any frame or stature.
I am smart. I am challenged.
I am striving for a future.
I am able. I am weak.
I am some strength.
I am none. I am being.
I am thoughts.
I am all things, said and done.
I am born.
I am dying.
I am dust of humble roots.
I am grace. I am pain.
I am labor of willed fruits.
I am a slave. I am free.
I am bonded to my life.
I am rich. I am poor.
I am wealth amid strife.
I am shadow. I am glory.
I am hiding from my shame.
I am hero. I am loser.
I am yearning for a name.
I am empty.
I am proud.
I am seeking my tomorrow.
I am growing.
I am fading.
I am hope amid the sorrow.
I am certain.
I am doubtful.
I am desperate for solutions.
I am leader.
I am student.
I am fate and evolutions.
I am spirit. I am voice.
I am memory not recalled.
I am chance.
I am cause.
I am effort, blocks and walls.
I am him.
I am her.
I am reasons without rhymes.
I am past. I am nearing.
I am present in all times.
I am many. I am no one.
I am seasoned by each being.
I am me.
I am you.
I am all souls now decreeing: I am.
Intentare traducirlo lo antes posible....
(Mattie con Billy Gilman que actuó para Michael en el Madison Square Garden)
Si quereia saber más sobre la enfermedad que se llevo a Mattie y a sus 3 hermanos entrad en http://www.mdausa.org/mattie/
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