We talked about how ASD is a gift from God. And to-morrow morning,
We shall argue why we are so much better than the neurotypicals. But to-day,
To-day we have naming of retards. Asperger’s,
Atypical autism and infantile autism,
And to-day we have naming of retards.
This is the Henny, I mean antidepressant. And this
Is the magic mushroom, I mean fungus, which use you will see,
When you are given your psychoactive drugs. And this is the therapy session,
Which in your case you have not got. The brain
Is a distinct grey matter and the thoughts are clear and separated,
Which in our case we have not got.
This is the catch, which is to always keep up your guards
And never reveal the truth to the neurotypicals. And please do not let me
See anyone letting their guards down. You can do it quite easy
If you have any strength in your soul. The steps
Are fragile and dangerous, never letting anyone see
Any of them letting their guards down.
And this you can see is the chisel. The purpose of this
Is to open the brain, as you see. We can slide it
Rapidly backwards and forwards: we call this
Letting out steam. And rapidly backwards and forwards
The autism is assaulting and fumbling the soul:
They call it letting out steam.
They call it letting out steam: it is perfectly easy
If you have any strength in your soul: like the chisel,
And the brain, and the self-control, and the social skills,
Which in our case we have not got; and the silent
Ignorant bliss in all of the grey matters and the autism going backwards and forwards,
For to-day we have naming of retards.
Very unusual choice of speaker, esp. in voice no. 2. Are both voice 1 and 2 meant to represent speakers on the autism spectrum?
ReplyDeleteThe Reed elements (catch-phrases and stanza structure) are all well reproduced, ensuring the reader will recognize the original and your poem's relation to it. However, the actual idea the poem seeks to communicate remains unclear to me.
Yes, I realized before publishing it that I hadn't been completely successful at establishing two distinctly different voices. I found it very difficult to do so, but I was high when I wrote this so... (That's a joke, I just have no excuses left)
DeleteA 'trick' could be to exaggerate the differences between the voices in your mind, f.ex. by making one of them totally depressed and the other very bubbly...
DeleteThis is actually a really profound and thought-provoking alteration of Reed's poetry fueled by genuine sentiments. From what I was able to derive from the context, you have sought to capture the frustration associated with how people are prone to judge and label those with mental disorders, ailments which will inevitably render the host adjustet with an aberrant behavior in accordance with the general consensus of normality. Some people do indeed try to claim that such diagnoses are a blessing, as it may leave the hosts greatly impaired in some departments while being exceptionally effective in others, but the truth is that autists are much more likely to be labeled as "freaks" or "retards", and thus, become a popular target for bullying. Once you've been exposed and hurt, the sense of self awareness swells like an inflammation and the person retreats into himself as a desperate attempt of self defense. People seldom harbor any empathy towards autists, so fundamentally, they are on their own to stray in the constricting world of solitude.
ReplyDeleteDamn, that's deep, lmao.
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