I did not have friends
When I was her age.
High school meant
The unpopular kids
Had to find hiding spots.
I was in university
When I was his age
Full of antics and shenanigans.
Still socially shy
But I did have a group to hang with.
Now, I can look back
And bore them stories
Of when I was your age…….
Who wakes up in the middle of the night.
The one who goes downstairs
Because they cannot sleep.
The one who has the midnight snack.
The one who doesn’t want to disturb the others sleep.
Yet, this morning I find myself down here
Head throbbing.
Stomach growling
And totally
Indecisive!
I used to think it was funny
when someone tripped and fell on their ass.
Then I saw an old lady
fall smashing her face in the sidewalk.
Society deems it acceptable to laugh at others pain and anguish,
but truly, do you like it when people laugh at you?
In the garden
The vegetables grow.
My mind eases
Until I step wrong
And I find the strawberries
Turned in to a premature jam.
Delicious.
Fresh.
Crunchy.
Healthy.
Now to just pick all the leftover salad bits from my teeth.
Should be weekdays
When you are supposed to be at work.
Not on the weekends!
I hear the cats at bedtime.
I hear them during the day.
I sometimes panic
until I remember
My two cats are inside
safe and sound!
Scales wash away.
Fragrances decay.
Buildings crumble.
Keyboards stutter.
Youth fades.
Stuffies rot.
I begin to see my way.
Heaven is jaded.
They did the best they could
given the resources and knowledge
they had when I was growing up.
Money was tight
but mother loved to garden
and so fresh, frozen or canned
perishables were plentiful.
My dad worked shift work
and always tried to make time for us
if we showed any interest in what he was doing.
Still, if they had known about Autism
and the signs to look for
I may have had a much different life up until now.
I don’t begrudge them for the past.
It is the current state
where their opinion
is I am faking my diagnosis.
Troubles start
Wandering around the store
Bumping into things.
Apologize even though no one is around.
Fix the displays.
After leaving the store
Realizing security had been following you.
They probably thought I was stoned
When it is merely lack of sleep.
Saturn's Premier Poet 