Every morning, our feet take stretches of road
like pages, like pavements that have not yet
born our words, our miles, our smiles,
our tears. We reach up, we reach out,
we bring wheels to asphalt hoping that the next day
is not split in two by a fissure crack –
or two, or twenty –
of heartbreak. Yes, we humans chase pavements. And we
do it again, and again, and again. I do it every morning,
trying not to look behind me.
Tag Archives: asperger syndrome
My Poem “Glass and Concrete” Published on Autism and Empathy
My poem, “Glass and Concrete” was republished over at the Autism and Empathy website.
Autism and Empathy seeks “to undo the myths about autism and empathy that have stigmatized autistic people for so long”. The site features prose and poetry by autistics, family members, parents, and professionals. If you haven’t seen it yet, I encourage you to go and read.
-Nicole
Holes
(Lakshmi and Persephone, to Sita)
(Lakshmi)
I don’t want to ask you about
how wide or how large the hole grew to –
I’d rather not remind you it’s even there
at all. When the white rabbit disappeared
down into the abyss, to the other side,
pocket watch in hand, a dandy’s waistcoat
girt about him like an old fool from sepia days,
we did not bid him goodbye, or Godspeed, or even
tears. Perhaps a veiled middle finger out of his sight,
or a “fuck you” shouted down the hole in frustration
for the pile of undone things he left behind — but that
was all we sent after him into the ether;
Continue reading
Pele Courts Vishnu, In Human Form
I have had my fingers burn with crimson delight,
electricity climbing nerves like a zig-zag bandit
to the top, tips glowing like thunderstorm light
proudly proclaiming desire. From there, the glow becomes
contagious, ever spreading throughout my
expanse of skin until I bloom, effulgent and dangerous –
I rage and flow inside every Cimmerian night.
Continue reading
Threads (for Autistics Speaking Day, 2011)
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,–
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile…
— Paul Laurence Dunbar
One might believe that there is an incongruity
within a doctor who can rescue a young toddler
playing in a sea of vomit inside of a South Indian hut
eviscerated by a village’s cholera outbreak, but yet
finds himself becoming windswept detritus tossed
from coast to coast by a stomach which demands
a constant schedule. One might place
his wide-armed compassion of raising that boy himself
and his Richter scale tremors at finding his office disturbed
as light-and-dark contrast Polaroids, and wonder
if the two men were even the same:
Continue reading
“High School Jungle” in Hyperlexia Journal
Greetings, readers!
“High School Jungle” was published in Hyperlexia Journal on Friday, October 14. It was written about my own experiences with being bullied in high school.
Hyperlexia Journal is a literary journal about the autism spectrum that publishes poetry, fiction, and personal essays. The editors of Hyperlexia seek “genuine and truthful writing about autism”.
New Video Version of “You Don’t See It” on Youtube
The newest version of the video for my poem, “You Don’t See It”, is now available on Youtube. This is the version that first aired at the April 2, 2011 Awe in Autism Live Event. Included in the video is some of my own artwork specially created for the poem. Watch below. I hope you like it. 
My Poem, “A Theology of An Autistic Body” Published in qarrtsiluni
Hellow RWP Readers!
My poem, “A Theology of an Autistic Body“, was published yesterday in qarrtsiluni. You can also hear me reading the poem on the podcast for that day on its website.
Qarrtsiluni is an online journal of poetry, prose, and art which publishes themed issues each quarter, with one poem/piece of prose/piece of artwork per day during each issue. This poem was published as part of the imprisonment issue — the contributors for that issue examine the idea of confinement, either voluntarily or involuntarily. “A Theology”, for me, is a statement about the sometimes voluntarily withdrawal that I sometimes need as an adult with Asperger’s Syndrome.
So, go check it out…as well as the rest of the fine pieces in the latest issue
My Poem “Lamppost Hierophant” Published in Shift Journal
Greetings, RWP Readers!
One of my poems, “Lamppost Hierophant” was published today at Shift Journal. It had been written for Sam Drezner, the son of documentary filmmaker Todd Drezner. His latest documentary, “Loving Lampposts” takes a look at his son’s autism, neurodiversity, and the current autism debates.
Go check out the poem. And while you’re at it, take a look at the rest of Shift Journal as well. It’s an eclectic publications whose contributors attempt to define autism as a legitimate way of being in the world.
My Poem, “Color (A Modest Plea)” Republished at Autism and Empathy
Hey folks! My poem, “Color (A Modest Plea)” was republished at the brand new Autism and Empathy website today. The website is dedicated to busting myths and debunking the common stereotype that autistic people are incapable of empathy. Go check it out!
-Nicole
Protected: NaPoWriMo #24: Crash
My Poem, “Color (A Modest Plea)” Published at Shift Journal
Greetings! My poem, “Color (A Modest Plea)“, was published today in Shift Journal of Alternatives: Neurodiversity and social change.
As you might surmise from the journal’s title, the journal’s premise is that autism has existed all along and it entertains “the notion of autistic as a legitimate way to be in the world, from the crossroads of theory, society, and personal experience”.
The poem was inspired by a piece by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg of Journeys with Autism which appeared earlier this month in Shift Journal, “An Open Letter to Robert MacNeil Regarding PBS’ Autism Now Series“. I used the same quote by Robert MacNeil from the series to jump-start this poem as one of my NaPoWriMo poems. Please jog over to Shift Journal to read it, and check out the many other contributions in the journal about autism and neurodiversity.
-Nicole
