Oshry Moyal

Love Poem in the Key of Duchenne
My DNA - Deletion in Dystrophin Gene:

when You are the one
to love me,

the only one
to love me, I know-

this cascade of
broken glass  

that is life
raining down on me

will never break
the skin, 

never spill the blood
from my veins,

never leave me
writhing
in a maroon pool,

warmth draining,
bitter cold
invading

— — — — — deletion of exons 48-50 — — — — —

loneliness and sorrow
will follow you
until the end  

muscle disease
never really gives,
it takes

it took your future
when you crashed through
the glass floor of diagnosis  

Duchenne
Muscular
Dystrophy

glass shards shriek,
chasing you down  

to your cruel new reality,
each one slicing away

another part of you,
the innocent prisoner  

muscle cell death,
your sentence

lung searing cries,
your useless appeal 

to the life
laid out for you:

wheelchair
confinement
at 12

back-breaking
scoliosis
at 15

progressing stages of
heart and respiratory
failure  

ventilator
dependence
by your late 20s

death
expected
by your early 30s  

lyrics that echoed
through my mind
in a perpetual loop—

— — — — — deletion in repair — — — — —

until I found You
and You ripped  

the needle
from the record

and sang me
Your own song  

to be loved
by You

is to be protected
by You: 

when You walk up
behind me,

intoxicatingly close,
Your icy, raspberry mint
breath  

sends a ripple
of shivers
down my spine,

Your bottom lip
barely sticking to my neck,
teasing  

You gave me all of You
so I’d never
fight alone

no one before You
had the courage
to love me 

but my thin, frail body
never scared
You

Your flowing, dark amber
locks tickle  

the inside of my ear
as You rest Your chin

on my shoulder
and train Your gaze  

on what’s waiting
ahead

then, Your voice,
softly, “breathe,” 

and, assuringly,
“this is nothing”

no one before You
had the confidence
to save me  

but doubt
never hindered
You

when You grip
my chest,
shockwaves charge  

through my bones,
and an explosive
jolt

deflects the threats
as they barrel
towards us  

because we are one
when You love me—
the only one who can

Oshry Moyal is a disabled poet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who primarily writes about love and disability. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Temple University in 2019.