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