At eight years old my brother born with Down syndrome liked to shuffle down the sidewalk holding our mother's hand mirror in which he'd watch what was happening behind him. What did he see so long ago? Me on a butterfly-handlebarred bike, which he would never learn to ride, about to run him down,
poet
Donald Platt
Donald Platt is the author of Dirt Angels (New Issues Press, 2009), My Father Says Grace (Arkansas University Press, 2007), Cloud Atlas (Purdue University Press, 2002), and Fresh Peaches, Fireworks, & Guns (Purdue University Press, 1994). His honors include the Discovery/The Nation Poetry Prize, the Paumanok Poetry Prize, two Verna Emery Poetry Prizes, and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. He teaches at Purdue University and lives in West Lafayette, Indiana.