Aspergers Syndrom

From the Same Tree

I remember that day,
You were just three,
Dining at the restaurant,
Bright eyed and curious,
Suddenly you started to cry
When the music was too loud,
I didn’t know it then,
But it was one of the first signs.

I couldn’t understand why
You wouldn’t talk to me,
You simply echoed my words,
Or why that one particular book,
Or spinning the wheels on your truck,
Seemed to soothe you.

I was lost in trying to find you,
Not knowing why or how,
I was scared,
There was a cry for help in your eyes.

I’m sorry for those times,
I lost my patience,
You were just a little boy.

But as the years passed
We learned about your abilities,
I began to perceive life in a different way,
I began to see the world through your eyes,
I began to understand more about ourselves,
I began to reflect of my own past
And damn!
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

I read and studied as much as I could,
I stayed up many nights watching you
Remembering me
And the choices I made,
The words that I said,
The silences I screamed,
Why did I do this?
Why did I say that?
Why was I that way?
Sometimes I still want to smack myself,
For the things I said and did.

Then I remembered the soothing sound
Of each rudiment when it was perfectly executed,
The way the tip of the stick seemed to bounce with ease,
How the snare seemed to play itself when I was fully relaxed,
It was like I could see it in slow motion, each diddle with flow,
Like a spirit,
I could hear every beat and pick up who was off.

I began to understand my impulses,
My awkwardness,
My aloofness,
My silence and joy at keeping secrets,
My berating self-talk with a sickness,
My overall sense of morbidity and self loathe.

I went through all my journals,
All my poems,
All my words,
How I became more conscious
Of that driver constantly talking to me:
No, easy there, don’t share that,
Say this instead,
Smile, listen intently, nod your head,
Be aware of their cues, understand their point,
Counter point,
Too monotone, try some inflection
There, that’s great,
Louder but not too loud,
Don’t swallow the words,
E-nun-ci-ate,
Look them in the eye
Connect, be sincere,
Good, you’re doing good…
Resist the urge to smack if they get stupid…

So when I sit and chat with you,
I feel relaxed and at ease,
We’re cut from the same tree,
Because through you,
I discovered more about myself,
What you taught me,
We’re just slightly different from everyone else.

My first placement through college
Was working with folks with complex needs
Downs syndrome and autistic spectrum service users
Are the most amazing folk on the planet I must concede

The easy joy we all forget in a fragmented society
The kind of innocence we all want to go back and find
Who are we to make the milestones and say what is normal
While the world becomes more dismissive intolerant and unkind

I met some awesome characters at space inclusive
Service users called my concept of intelligence to question
Folks with eidetic memories who loved their beautiful simple routines
Society needs to re-evaluate who has worth and who have a deeper perception

AEMelia thank you so very much for hosting such a wonderful comp!!

Congratulations to My Mysterious Whelms for taking the win! Well deserved my friend...you know how I felt immediately after reading it!

Ms. Jackson, wonderful ink you put down and I am honored to be standing beside you. Well done!!

Congrats to all entrants...each piece was magnificent in their own right and I'm sure it was incredible difficult to choose...a pleasure to be among all of you.

And again another thank you to our wonderful host! Much appreciated!!!

Xoxo Taryn

Hugging you my divine.

But to the rest you beauties,
Congrats for sharing yourselves
And what not.