A Guest Post

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a young man named Scott Lentine, who kindly included a couple of his poems for me to read. I was blown away by them. Scott graciously agreed to let me share them with my readers. The rest of this post is written by him.

I am Scott Lentine, a 25 year old man on the autism spectrum (PDD-NOS/Asperger’s) from Billerica, MA, a Boston suburb. I am currently a public policy intern at the Arc of Massachusetts in Waltham, where I try to persuade legislators to push for more employment, health care, and social services for people with developmental disabilities. I am currently waiting to pursue data entry/clerical positions, hospital/lab settings, university administrative posts, autism non-profit organizations, and organizations similar to AANE and the Arc. I am planning to put these poems, as well as the soon to be revised fourth poems and future poems on a blog in the future.

 

Just a Normal Day

Never knowing what to say

Never knowing what to do

Always looking for clues

Just a normal day

 

Feeling unsure

Totally perplexed with everyday life

Always on edge never certain

I wish I could lift this curtain

Needing to constantly satisfy my need for information

Always online searching for new revelations

Going from site to site

Obtaining new insights every night

 

Trying to connect with people my age

Attempting to reveal my unique vision

But ending up alone and unengaged

Feeling like my needs a total revision

Just a normal day

 

Can’t You See

 

Can’t you see

I just want to have a friend

Can’t you see

I need the same connections in the end

 

Can’t you see

I want a good job

Can’t you see

I need to have stability and dependence and part of the general mob

 

Can’t you see

I want to be independent on my own

Can’t you see

I want to be able to have my own home

 

Can’t you see

I want the same things as everyone else

Can’t you see

I want to be appreciated for myself

 

 

The Ode to the Autistic Man

 

Try to understand the challenges that I face

I would like to be accepted as a human in all places

Where I will end up in life I don’t know

But I hope to be successful wherever I go

I would like to expand my social skills in life

Making new friends would be very nice

 

Stand proud for the autistic man

For he will find a new fan

I hope to overcome the odds I face today

Increased acceptance will lead me to a brighter day

 

By the age of 20, I will have made tremendous strides

I know in the future, life will continue to be an interesting ride

I have made new friends by the year

I will be given tremendous respect by my family and peers

I hope to get noted for bringing the issue of autism to the common man

So that autistic people can be accepted in this great land

 

Stand proud for the autistic man

For he will find a new fan

I hope to overcome the odds I face today

Increased acceptance will lead me to a brighter