day 2 - poem a day challenge

prompt word - outsider




the distance


was he born an outsider
or did it grow within
the distance, the difference
which separates him

he lives in his own world
looks out through the bars
his perceptions quite altered
through autism's scars

he practiced a smile
though he did not know why
he is learning control
as the years pass on by

he wants to hold tight
but he must turn away
avoiding eye contact
a price he can't pay

he used to strike others
with rage bubbling out
releasing his fear
with a fist and a shout

now he waits and he watches
he follows the crowd
he still is confused
but he's doing us proud

when he meets people now
they really don't know
the struggle he has
just to go with the flow

so son, turn your back
i will hold from behind
in the way you can bare
in the way which is kind

"hold me tight nan" he says
"it makes me feel better"
and "oh by the way
do you like my new sweater"

"rub my shoulders"... so tight,
with the burden of living
in a world which is strange
and fraught with misgiving

an outsider, for ever
is that who you'll be
trapped in a mind
which will not set you free

Copyright © 2009 by Eryll Oellermann