We got the same heart
Beating the same blood
Into the same veins.

We got the same dreams
The same goals
And the same feelings.

We got the same anger
And the same sadness
All from the same fear.

What’s the difference
Between you and me?
Color of skin?
Sexuality?
What does that mean to you?
It means absolutely nothing to me.

"You can join our group," he says,
"But only if you look everyone in the eyes."
I freeze.
Surely he is aware by now that the words
Autism Spectrum Disorder
In my chart were not placed there for fun?
Surely he is aware by now that finger twitching, body rocking,
     gaze avoiding
Are not for my frivolous pleasure?
Surely he is aware by now the absurdity of what he asks?
I am autistic.
Burning irritation of the eyes and panic aside,
Staring creepily into another human's eyeballs
Would render group a waste of time, no possibility to listen.
He knows this.
It is his prejudice that keeps him rooted to the spot.
I can feel the weight of his expectations boring into my forehead.
Explaining what it is to ask this of me,
I remind him that drawing this line would be excluding me because
Of my autism.
I tell him he would be losing a valuable participant,
A deep thinker, a creator, an avid listener.
I tell him he would be discriminating,
That I am protected by law.
Oh, no.
He budges not,
For he does not dislike autistic humans
So long as they act like they are Neurotypical,
So long as I pretend to be
Someone I am not.

You release your words
Deliberately;
Measuring each syllable,
Carrying all the consonants,
Gathering up the vowels,
And waiting for the light
Before you cross.
Certain words put a curve
To the shape of your mouth
And your eyes, confidence.

My words are forced unwilling
out the door; each one
pushing on the one ahead,
an unbalanced mass;
tipping forward until they fall
Out in a rush, elbows out,
Knees weaponized;
Falling over each other, still
breathlessly barrelling on.


NCL September 2019

A flaw or difference to one,
Is a pathway towards acceptance
For another...

...In a world that embraces and encourages
a "cookie-cutter" mentality,
Individuality should be celebrated,
Not chastised!

A dark veil
Covers the light
Like a shadow of night
Light is darkness

Deep into the abyss
It drowns
Deep and deeper, Everyday
Every day
Frown of darkness

mirage of light
Light's hope
A false sense of hope
Unending struggle
Of light and darkness

A vacuum
Of intense cold
Taunts and torments
All that crosscut the abyss
It's light is true black.

Hands like bodies,
rough and calloused,
smooth and soft,
freckled knuckles,
blemished palms,
with cuts and scars littered like stars,
short and stubby or long and thin,
different skins and many strings.

Despite their difference,
they share the same sins,
capable of giving gifts,
but also skilled in petty theft.

Warm and kind caresses,
bruised and ****** stresses,
a gentle yet expressive message,
fingers trail like searing fire upon wry shaking lips.

We are like sun and moon, you and I
Hoping to be together, we try
But the universe declines
As we look for signs

Like fire and water, we're no match
But onto you, I'll still latch
Nature is keeping us apart
When love, we try to impart

We're like colors, black and white
As our worlds collide
Each other is a no invite
Cause we repel strongly in all might

Morals, like right or wrong, we are
Close yet so far
We are differentiated very much
And we can't get in touch

We may be worlds apart
But wish it may that we're in each other's hearts
And though we can't be on the same side
May in each other's arms can we abide

There came a point in my life where the world was forever changed in my eyes,
As a child, I struggled to see our differences.
Imagine walking up the steps of the 102 floors in the Empire State Building on a scorching summer day, having to stop to take long breaths and finding it hard to breathe,
While others easily take the elevator and don’t break a sweat.
This concept baffled me, like an author with writer’s block,
They don’t know what to write next as I don’t know how to move forward with this new information.
Suddenly, I began to wonder if my friends knew what I knew
And if they knew, do they look at me differently because of our differences?
This changed my perspective on the “perfect” world that I thought I was living in.
What really makes us so different though?
Is it our intelligence? Or is it our skin tone? Is it our history? Or is it just a general society belief?
As I got older, people began to openly make me aware of our differences.
The harsh, cruel words I received aggravated me, but I would not let them see my weaknesses.
I am aware of what makes us different now, but I refuse to let that change who I am.
Although my differences can be seen as a bad factor to some, I see them as something great,
An opportunity to glow, shine, and be the best version of myself.