Why

About this poem

A Heart Of A Boy With Cerebral Palsy In The 1970s By Jack Pinnock and By Dr. Theodore Arthur Pinnock July 4, 2021 I remember so clearly, the outpouring of a child’s heart in the form of poetry. This one, written in 1973, is but one of many. At the time of this writing, the accomplished man that we know today as Dr Pinnock (JD) was an 11-year-old Afro-American child, born with Cerebral Palsy, living in a children’s hospital. During those years no matter which state I lived in I would drive to visit this child, gifted with a heart touching prose, in the form of poetry. Why, at age 11 would a disabled Black boy formulate prose about what he sees as he conditions of the world? The poem is highly contemplative. Perhaps he looked far beyond his own sufferings and focused more upon the sufferings of others. Here the future Dr Pinnock ponders the reason for death, deceit, child abuse, disability, murder, and misfortune. Dr. Pinnock poses interrogatories to whom? Does “air” refer to God? Dr. Pinnock’s mother read the Bible to him from 1962 on. It is deduced that this poem was influenced by the Bible. Dr. Pinnock was concerned about the morality of humanity early on in life as this poem makes abundantly clear. He was always searching for answers to important societal problems. It is incredible that a young Black disabled boy would sit in an institution and contemplate God and the human condition. This poem was typed by Dr. Pinnock in the institution he resided in inside a classroom. The typewriter was old and manual with a keyguard. A keyguard is a device with an opening for each key to prevent a person lacking fine motor skills from accidently hitting a key. Dr. Pinnock was granted permission to use the class alone. He labored there typing for hours ignoring his cerebral palsy. Dr. Pinnock grew up with his family until August of 1970. Poverty forced his parents to make him a ward of the State of Connecticut. more »