Drawing on qualitative field work – interviews, shadowing and poetry – this study investigates the potential of poetry to communicate the internal exclusion of Deaf older adults receiving old age care support. By presenting poetry to people working in different authorities and organizations involved in the care and legally sanctioned support for Deaf older adults and interpreting their responses with the help of Young’s (2000) understanding of internal exclusion, we explore whether poetry can act as a bridge between those receiving care services and those who have an influence over those services, and assist in enabling a ‘collective social wisdom not available from any one position.’ We show how poetry can become part of the academic practice of research communication in a way that is complementary, but not inferior, to the dominant methods in social sciences. Furthermore, we show how poetry can challenge and invigorate researchers’ sensitivity to difference.