Dear Friends,
Well, I think some of you might not like what I have to say here. I know I once stated my desire to keep this page apolitical. That has been mostly what I have done. But it is hard to do so when my identity and existence and needs are entangled in political narratives.
This poem is a peek into my reaction to RFK Jr.’s speech, though it was a little while ago. Please read it from the perspective of someone who cares about me. I am not speaking on behalf of all nonspeaking autistics. I am speaking for me.
Your Friend,
Danny
To us who are hopeless, by Danny Whitty
Our plight is often taken
From us and our hands
From our mouths
That can't talk
Because our existence is
So painful
For others to witness
We are a cautionary tale
But we still exist in the world
And being an example of something
Dreadful
Is no way to live
And I am struggling to say
That I am flawed I am defective
I am so trapped in this disabled body
But I am not to be
Used as an example
To justify the
Rampage against science
Even if that science hasn't served me
To justify or distract from
The threat to
What I need to lead
A life with my limitations
And I want to reclaim the conversation
Or rather claim it anew
Because you never included me in it
In the first place.
Danny With Words 
You always bring a new dimension to the perspectives that I share with you Danny. This recent poem of yours is a perfect example. You have wisdom for the world.
(PS – I marvel at your ability to write poem, and your blogs, for that matter. I wonder – do you write drafts and work on them? Or do you do all this in your head so that when you work with Tara to spell them out, they are perfect initially?)
Thank you for all you give to us out here.
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Thank you, Lisa! For my poems I almost never edit. They just come out. The way my brain thinks is very aligned with poetry and I often create poems in my head just in my daily life. My blogs also are rarely edited. Only my longer prose is ever really edited. Editing is so tedious because I have to explain my edits by spelling!
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