Encounter With a Genius

He was born blind,
But refused
To use that
As an excuse
Or to allow his blindness
To hinder him.
He had honed
His other senses
To such a level
That he practically
Had no need
For sight,
But it was his mind
That was truly
Extraordinary.
He had earned
A Doctorate Degree
In mathematics
From Brown University
Using his ability
To envision complex equations
Few seeing people
Could begin to grasp.
He could easily
Have become renown
In the field of
Theoretical mathematics,
But chose instead
To teach at the college level.
That is where I met him
As a lowly Freshman
Struggling with calculus.
Before the class started,
He had an assistant
Read the textbook to him,
And he memorized
The entire book verbatim,
And could recite
Any given page
Word for word
As if he was reading it.
He had an infallible
Photographic memory.
He could write
On the blackboard
Without seeing
What he was doing,
And could break off
For an explanation mid word
And return to the exact spot
Where he left off
And continue writing
As if he could see
What he was doing.
He never used a cane
Or a Seeing Eye dog,
Yet he could maneuver
Through crowds,
Go up and down stairs,
Cross streets
And find his way around
The entire campus.
He needed an assistant
To help him grade
Homework and tests,
But aside from that,
He had no need of eyes.
I was left in awe
By the invincibility of his spirit
And his dedication
To teaching mathematics
Against all odds.