Monday 22 October 2012

Autism -Poetry


For those who follow my tweets I thought I would post the two poems I wrote for a recent "open mic" fundraiser - next blog to coming soon! The first poem is about the spectrum of autism which can differ widely for each individual and he second is for my nephew who as Asperger's .  Originally the poem had his name and was called after him but I have now taken this out. 

I hope you enjoy and any critique is welcome!

Accept me for who I am


I gaze into the spinning prism, a kaleidoscope of dancing rainbow lights
Amazingly
In the entrancing thrall I still hear you voice but just a distant echo,
your touch a whisper of pain.
And I hide in the sunlight melting shadow
Perceiving the world differently from you

My body is not here disconnected with sensory overload
Understanding
That I am uncomfortable in my own skin
 Distracted by unbearable loudness,
Lost in swirling sensations within
Why can’t you hear the things I hear?

Spinning, rocking, flapping - calming my anxiety
Through
The moving stimulation of the physical  
Resisting the overwhelming tidal wave
And reaching for the ordered and logical
I shut myself off and retreat to my own world

I understand what you say, and emphasise with your confusion
Innocently
Its outside my comprehension, I’m blinded to your emotion
I don’t have the words of comfort
And instead bore you with my one-sided conversation
Choosing to respond in another way

Sometimes I wonder who the person that you see before you is
Surprising
In this world full of contradictions
Despite our differences we have much more in common
Where people don’t mean and meet their own convictions
The truth is the truth and I live by the rules,




Beautiful rhythms of the connections in your brain: for me not the same. 
Truthful
With accelerated growth at the wrong time
My brain just developed too quickly "wired" atypically
I see differently but I can find Waldo every time
I am not designed to be like you

You have preconceived notions and unrealistic expectations
Imperfection
I am just different, I don’t have a disability
Why do you ostracize me and laugh behind my back
I don’t understand your sarcasm your irony
 I don’t judge you why do you judge me

I am quirky with a condition of social dyslexia
 Constructively
Look first for similarities between us and know that I cannot lie
What is the measure of weirdness to normal?
There is more to me than meets the eye
Accept me for who I am
I am Autistic

Amazingly Understanding Through Innocently Surprising Truthful Imperfection Constructively:  you and I can accept the differences in us all




My Nephew

There is something different about my nephew;
There is something in him I admire
While others have considered him geeky, nerdy, eccentric
and socially awkward
lacking the social graces
I see someone as gentle with the calmness of being straight-forward
and a grand sense of humour.
Honesty is his hall mark and how many of us can say we cannot lie
His eye contact may be infrequent, interpretation everything as literal
Unable to express his emotion - overreacting to stimuli
But he is only slightly different to you and I

He has a base guitar, obsessed with heavy rock and metal
Has a beer with his mates, and practices with his own band
Sometimes he can be quiet and withdrawn,
Wanting his own space
And when teased and tested he doesn’t quite understand
Without knowing the questions he wants to ask,
He has found the courage to change direction
Developed his own unique personality
with his own unique perception

He notices and feels both too much and too little
You can’t put him in a box or pigeon hole who he is
Sometimes you can hear his thoughts whirring in his head,
with a strong sense of social justice and clear moral beliefs.
You may say he is emotionally immature and slow to catch on
But he has emerged from years of struggle,
from bullying and isolation
I admire him for who he is and the obstacles he has overcome
in a world full of confusion, and where we
are all searching for freedom from our disillusion 
He is a breath of fresh air

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