Homework 15/12: Asperger's Child

[David Campbell]

Thanks, Maureen. I'd never heard of a Kyrielle sonnet, but it's always good to try something new. And this one ties in with the discussion in the Les Murray thread.

Asperger's Child

You’re such a strange child, little one,
it’s hard to know what can be done,
for you must walk the road alone
inside this world you’ve made your own.

You go to places I can’t be,
a universe I’ll never see…
the sights and sounds I can’t be shown
inside this world you’ve made your own.

While words, like arrows, pierce your mind,
and conjure thoughts to which I’m blind,
I learn to challenge all I’ve known
inside this world you’ve made your own.

You’re such a strange child, little one,
inside this world you’ve made your own.

© David Campbell 01/12/14

[Maureen K Clifford]

Brilliant David - well done. They are rather fun to do don't you think? I enjoy a bit of a challenge and like you had never heard of these either, it was my American poet friend Doris who introduced me to the concept.

[Neville Briggs]

Good on ya David.

I do an art class with disabled people, one of them is Aspergers. He doesn't look at me or speak to me, but I converse with him as if he was responding in the usual way, he does what I tell him to do and produces marvellous detailed pencil drawings. Sometimes there is a faint smile when I praise his work.
He even smiles a bit at my jokes, now that's a worry

[David Campbell]

Thanks, Maureen and Neville. That problem with meeting your eye is common with Asperger's sufferers, Neville. Along with an inability to recognise facial expressions, metaphors, irony, sarcasm, humour...in fact, many of the things most of us take for granted in interpersonal relations. So they often have great difficulty socially. Asperger's manifests itself in many ways, and with varying degrees of severity, but those who have it can be very intelligent, although extremely obsessive about a few things. They can react very badly to loud noises, bright lights, and certain colours or textures. Typically, they hate change and need a strict daily routine. The writers of The Big Bang Theory on TV have invested the character of Sheldon with many classic Asperger's traits. It's an extremely popular show, centred around him, and I wonder how those on the autism spectrum respond to it. Or if they do.

A lot of people undoubtedly remain undiagnosed (the syndrome was only officially recognised in 1994) because individual situations might be not at all clear-cut. Which leads to the question: What is "normal", anyway?

David

[Shelley Hansen]

Wow! David, what a fabulous poem, showing a depth of understanding of this condition that is still so "closed" to many.
To you Maureen - I have also never heard of the Kyrielle sonnet, but what a thrill to find a new poetic form to try out!! To me it has some similarities to the Villanelle with its line repetition (though the number of lines and cycle of repetition is different).
I will bend my mind to the challenge over the next few days and see what I can produce
Cheers, Shelley

[Catherine Lee]

Excellent poem David and very touching. I have a cousin with this and he wasn't diagnosed properly until in his mid to late-forties - meanwhile it was patently obvious to everyone that he was indeed in a different world. His social skills are still pretty non-existent but what he's always known about electronics, computers, camera equipment etc., (his obsessions), is beyond belief!

[David Campbell]

Thank you, Shelley and Catherine.

Catherine, if you haven't already come across it, you may be interested in a book called Pretending to be Normal: Living with Asperger's Syndrome by Liane Holliday Willey, first published in 1999. It's written by an 'Aspie' who wasn't diagnosed until age 38, and it's a fascinating insight into her amazing world. I stumbled across it when it came out and began to wonder how many children I'd taught with the syndrome, so wrote an article about it in an education magazine in 2002. Just to give a brief insight, Liane loved reading as long as the material was factual and didn't force her beyond the literal. She hated outings and loved the order of home. She hated stiff, shiny, or scratchy things (especially clothes), but liked the physical sensation of crunchy things...chewing tinfoil, scraping emery boards with her teeth, munching on sugar packets, toilet bowl sanitising bars, and moth balls. She regularly ended up in hospital. Her obsessions were the Wild West and Hollywood romantic comedies. She also developed repetitive behaviours based on the number 10...riding precisely 10 miles each day, taking 10 steps to go up stairs. Noises and bright lights were also a problem. I've used some of these characteristics as the basis for the central character in a few short stories.

It's a beautifully written book and I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested.

Cheers
David

[alongtimegone]

Beautiful and sensitive poem David.
Wazza

[Heather]

An interesting topic David and a poem that once again would stretch the definitions of "bush" poetry.

Heather

[Robyn]

Lovely poem David. I think the refrain adds interest, like the chorus of a song.