Not quite sure you know what it's like
To have the strangest things set you off
Like a wayward firecracker
To have every single sound pressing down into your skull
And your brain swelling up from the inside
Like a messy sponge
To want to speak to people and be spoken to
But have your words come out all wrong
And your actions all twisted and used against you
And being forced to laugh
So you don't explode
Like the strange autistic kid
You are
You are auditory-sensitive
You are so in tune
And so out of it
All at once
And sometimes your mind is a prison
That drags you back down every time
You try to be
Normal
Acceptable
But then you laugh
And cry
Because that won't happen
Ever.
Nov 7, 2014
Nov 7, 2014 at 5:23 PM UTC
It started as a little hatching bird
Raising it's feeble
Oversized, ungainly
Little head
It started as a spark
Flickering weakly under tinder and wood
With hardly anything
To give
It started as a raised head
Like the shy kid in class
Working up the rarest courage
To speak
It started as the faintest of urges
And I didn't worry too much
'Bout it
It was probably nothing
I came back from the capital
And realized
My time to fly was approaching
That little bird had flight feathers now
That little spark was catching
Spreading around
Giving more and more warmth
And it finally began to show
I went around town
To start
And then Chicago
And then my own house
That shy kid spoke up at last
That little bird raised it's wings
That fire grew stronger
And stronger
I am posed on the edge
Of a burning nest from the fire
Ready to speak again
This time even louder
Apr 3, 2014
Apr 3, 2014 at 1:31 PM UTC
The world is endlessly white
And gray
And cold
And not much else
It has been this way for so long
Like a thousand-year winter
The light of the sun
Is shining somewhere else
So cold
Everyday
Without end
A tedious repetition
Even the snow days
Do not offer much joy
As they used to
It is still cold
For the first time
In a winter
I long for spring
Like my heat-loving mother
I long for the chirping of birds in the morning
Running barefoot
On sweet green grass in the sun
Burning gold into my hair
I long for summer thunderstorms
And the airy scent of ozone
And mud in my sandals
The bottoms of my feet turning rawhide tough
Vacations in the Outer Banks
And weekends Up North
Charging through the ice-cold river
Chasing minnows and frogs
I cannot remember
The last time
It had been above freezing
The last time I saw the light of day
A nationwide chill
Freezing roads
Into ice slicks
Bringing new records
The polar vortex
I will be telling the future generations
Of your ice
And snow
But then it begins to happen
Ever so slowly
But we notice
And rejoice like children
One warm day here
And another here
Like hopscotch
With the ice in between
And at last we break free
At least here we did
Digging out the bikes and running shoes
And raincoats long lost
I walk through the town again of my free will
The birds are singing again
I'm pretty sure they're rejoicing too
The thousand-year winter has ceased
Apr 3, 2014
Apr 3, 2014 at 1:21 PM UTC
Silky milkweed fluff
Dotted with sparse, darkish brown
Swept up from my hand
Apr 3, 2014
Apr 3, 2014 at 12:52 PM UTC
Two flitting swallows
Snowy and sapphire pure
Like gems of the sky
Apr 3, 2014
Apr 3, 2014 at 12:50 PM UTC
Dear cousin,
I wonder what went wrong
Oh so wrong
It seemed only yesterday
When you would chase my sister and me
Around the house
Whenever you came over to visit
I wonder what went wrong
Oh so wrong
I remember the good times
You scaring me and then both of us laughing
Me following you around
Like a lost puppy
Looking for an example of greatness
I wonder what went wrong
Oh so wrong
You're in prison now
Putting horrible things into your body
Hurting yourself
Your family
Your friends
I wonder what went wrong
Oh so wrong
I hope you get better
I hope you're smart enough to use your head
And care
For yourself
Your family
Your friends
I wonder what went wrong
Oh so wrong
Apr 2, 2014
Apr 2, 2014 at 7:53 PM UTC
High school is an old-new path
With much along the way
It is old sweatshirts
And worn-out earphones
And old mentalities swayed
It is headaches in math
And old white sneakers
And love without a doubt
Goodbyes called
Hellos sang
From a whisper to a shout
Apr 2, 2014
Apr 2, 2014 at 1:35 PM UTC