You are familiar with the tale.
A mermaid, sang with the most beautiful angelic sound.
Had to surrender voice to be human
and marry the prince.  He wanted another
princess, and poor mermaid dissolved
in the ocean.
 
Aphasia is:
A snake that coils and hisses.
Diabolical Ursula schemes to rule the ocean world.
An evil witch who casts a spell over speech.
A toothy fox ready to bite your head off.
A sudden end to your dreams,
only able to see a dark tunnel, the sun blocked.
 
Disney gave the story a happy ending, so Ariel
married the prince.   With courage and strength,
you overcome disability and are much better. 
You have learned much and are still alive.
A fairytale ending to a scary fable.

Listen carefully to these words.
 
The Big Bad Wolf to Little Red Riding Hood.   Mama,
Papa, and Little Bear to Goldilocks.  Puss in Boots to
his young master.  Several fairy tales have animals talk
like actors in a Shakespeare play, reciting their lines.
Disabled people are understudies with stage fright, frozen
on stage.  The animals laugh at them, and they become
silent and still.  The damaged ones just watch the
performance as if from a distant alien world.
 
A different fairy tale, without words, just shadows
and sorrow. Aphasia stole their cracked brain, and threw
it down into a deep, cold, wet and dark well.  Broken
switches, misfired rifles, the lone soldier.   A long battle
ahead, they must overcome multiple obstacles.  Many
changes lead to a new beginning, but hard work will
set them free.  Through the thick tree canopy, the sun peaks.
 
A happy fairy tale ending is within reach.

About the author: 
Rochelle M. Anderson lives in Minnesota, USA.   She is an attorney who had a severe stroke in 2007 and almost died.   She is still disabled with difficulty walking, and because of aphasia struggles with reading and writing.   Ms. Anderson has been published in four chapbooks, and several online poetry journals.  Writing poetry has helped her recover, and dictation fuels her words.

Flying towards the beautiful, distant horizon
the pilot, in charge, scrutinized the brain
focused on center of runway
 
Suddenly, the snow twirled and swirled
stroke causes plane to slide off the end of tarmac
what’s going to happen?
 
With grit and strength
determination rules
aphasia now controls the airspace
 
Landed in a foreign country
cannot speak or understand the language
new journey is ready to begin

Forest, dark and scary.   Will I lose the
magic beans?   Animals speak,
ogres growl, and wolves disguised.
Fairy tales read to me as a child,
are remembered as an adult. 
 
My story begins with a black, pointed hat
and scraggly broom.  A witch suddenly
appears, casts a spell, and causes a stroke
that almost kills me.   Grey matter twisted,
and the enchantress short circuits my brain.
 
Aphasia is a serpent that stings,
an ordeal of shadows and contrasts.
My mind is filled with jumbled shapes,
nonsense words, and mixed-up colors.
Demons shout sinister curses.  Still cloudy,
but I see the sun start to peek through.