There seems to be a prevalence of autism spectrum related disorders, especially in little boys. Or is it that educators and practitioners are more aware of symptoms and now have a label for what we used to call quirky kids?
My poem is on line at this link. Please "LIKE" the page and share this information with others, as this is the first issue for Spectrum Magazine. Wishing them the best.
Thank you for your visits to my blog. By the way, I have been invited to help a celebrity set up a blog. More later.
http://www.spectrummag.org/
Whirlwind | by Linda O'Connell |
Couldn't keep that boy contained.
His colors eased off the spectrum and he
refracted himself all over the place.
Couldn't speak softly, sit still,
tolerate certain textures in his mouth,
hands, or on his body.
He ran with the wind,
tornadoed by, sliced into
personal space like lightning.
Driven to move, groove,
our boy could behoove
the best professionals.
I abhor leashed toddlers,
though even on a rein
his mama couldn't lead him.
Her choices: turn on him and make a scene,
or turn him loose, keep an eye on him,
hope not to be seen.
While the cute little devil
couldn't be contained,
guardian angels watched over him.
Professionals yo-yoed his meds
flip-flopped his moods
tinkered with his appetite.
When they got it just right,
he looked up with delight
and said, "My brain finally quit talking."
His colors eased off the spectrum and he
refracted himself all over the place.
Couldn't speak softly, sit still,
tolerate certain textures in his mouth,
hands, or on his body.
He ran with the wind,
tornadoed by, sliced into
personal space like lightning.
Driven to move, groove,
our boy could behoove
the best professionals.
I abhor leashed toddlers,
though even on a rein
his mama couldn't lead him.
Her choices: turn on him and make a scene,
or turn him loose, keep an eye on him,
hope not to be seen.
While the cute little devil
couldn't be contained,
guardian angels watched over him.
Professionals yo-yoed his meds
flip-flopped his moods
tinkered with his appetite.
When they got it just right,
he looked up with delight
and said, "My brain finally quit talking."
13 comments:
Linda--Congratulations on getting another of your pieces published.
(After this, I'll head over to the link.)
If we guess the celebrity, will you tell us?
Beautiful poem, Linda! Congrats! How do you keep up and keep it all going? I'm worn out just thinking about all the places you're published, knowing what it takes to do all of that! You're amazing.
What an extraordinary poem, Linda! Your choice of verbs, esp. in those first lines is outstanding. Wow, such a poem!!!
Sounds so familiar to me. And I tried the leash when he was 2. While at Arlington Cemetery, he broke and took off on a tear all the way up to Kennedy's eternal flame.
Love this Linda! Work with autistic kids for 5 years. This reminds me of my favorite student!!
What a beautiful poem, Linda! You really captured the joys and struggles of autism. I loved it!
I know too many of these children too! Great poem--where was it published?
Duh! Just saw where it is published. Coffee hasn't kicked in yet... ;-)
Aww, sweet little guy! Seems like you captured this one well.
Congrats on getting this published!
Hi Linda...Happy for your poem being published in a new magazine.
I'm sure you've had firsthand knowledge of the austistic little ones. Susan
Congrats! So fitting.
Wonderful poem, Linda! Loved this.
Great poem! Congratulations! Have to confess, though, that I kept my son on a leash when he went through his run-through-the-airport-and-the-parking-lot phase.
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