This is in tribute to remembering those loved, lost and survivors.
Threads of Peace
Art of Autism’s Poems and Art for Peace, 2nd Installment
Your still, “quiet” voice is here that humanity listens louder to your song. Keri Bowers
This year’s 3rd Annual Art of Autism Poems and Art for Peace submissions indelibly enrich us with loud and quiet voices alike. Whimsical, fluid, creative, imaginative, quirky, and inspired by peace-filled ideas, these works of words and art are in service of peaceful values, exchanges, and communication.
This year, approximately 70% of the submissions received by us were sent by non-speaking individuals and those who use few verbal words to communicate everyday wants, needs, and ideas. Seeing more people accessing the ability to communicate – and communicate brilliantly – despite varied challenges fills us with awe and wonder. We appreciate you and your hard-won efforts to speak your inner voices through typing and other augmented technology.
The Art of Autism acknowledges the beautiful visual art submitted for this and many other Art of Autism Projects. Your art & soul always inspires us. We are glad to be a part of an ever-exploding artistic curve in autism and other disabilities.
In Memory of 9/11 – This installation of poetry and art is published in honor and memory of 9/11 ~ the lost, the loved, the survivors and the innumerable ways 9/11 profoundly changed each of us. This event in history serves as a reminder that creating peace is an internal and external action in our everyday lives.
Indigo Wings
By Cynnea Davis
Blue Butterflies fly free as the Angel Guide
They are meant to be
Can you feel their mystical light?!!
They hover above us seeing through us with their second sight
Helping us awaken from the darkness of our long cold night
Stirring us, moving us, flitting to and fro
Getting us to remember who we are and what we already know
Appreciation, patience, kindness, uniqueness, difference
All branches of One magnificent Universal Tree
The New Earth as Heaven with all its’ Beauty and Grace
Was always meant to be
Beaming Blue Lights
Butterfly Angel Wings
Flapping to soar on their flights
Transmuting to come down in a body-
Tip Tip Tippy Toes-
Quiet….. Listen my sweet sisters and bros
This is how I talk
With my Wings and my toe walk
Now that you understand
I can show you how to allow yourself to be
And like me-
Fly free.
My Summer Aspirations
By Scott Lentine
My Summer Aspirations
Reaching out, making connections
Looking for friends and new directions
Exploring new places and meeting people
Moving forward and looking for life’s next sequel
Beautiful beach weather with waves crashing on the shore
Allows me to connect with nature
My senses feel alive to the core
And I relate to life’s basic force
Crowded beaches with people everywhere
Dogs of all shapes and sizes
Makes me feel like part of the affair
And I am happy and my spirit rises
Celebrating the vacation with family and friends
Seeing new and old acquaintances
Helps me reconnect and feel alive
And enables my mind to thrive
Summer is a great time of year
A bright new beginning in life is here
My plan is to make the most of this season
And let the meaning of my life deepen
LOVE FUELS PEACEFUL OUTCOMES
By Anthony Brown. Typing support by Mary Ann Harrington
Peace is coming so it seems
No longer lost among superficial dreams
Great feeling coming over me
Sensed oppression is relieved
Why? I wonder, is it so?
Shifting energy, all aglow
In my heart, I know it’s true
Saving grace, is pouring through
Ascending zenith, arriving now
Spreading kindness all around
Beams of light heartfelt sound
A LITTLE SECRET
By Amanda LaMunyon
She looks like any other girl
But she has a secret
You might never suspect
Lots of things bother her
In her clothes, a little tag might feel like sandpaper
Food needs to taste just right
or she won’t eat
She thinks she can’t go a week without ice cream
Noise and movement are confusing
It makes her want to run or say be quiet
Light is a hundred times brighter to her
Oh, what a world she lives in
Some say she is a little professor
But you might not be interested in what she has to say
She might start talking about Ancient Egypt or something else
And you won’t have a clue what she is talking about
She would never hurt anyone’s feelings
But sometimes she does and she doesn’t even know it
What is this little secret?
Asperger’s Syndrome
A high-functioning form of autism
I know because I have it
Many are suspected of having it, Einstein, Michelangelo
1 out of every 110 children will be diagnosed with autism this year
Some say its a disability
But, I am a girl with dreams
I will take what God has given me along with the challenge and use it
To fulfill the purpose God has for me
Psalms 139: 13 & 14 says:
For You created my inmost being
You knit me together in my mother’s womb
I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made
Your works are wonderful, I know that full well
I give this challenge to you: if you know someone a little different
Look for something good
It will be there
For it may be a little secret waiting to be told
A dream waiting to unfold
Amanda LaMunyon wrote, “A Little Secret” in 2006. A long-time friend of The Art of Autism, she recently sent it along to us for re-publication in our Peace Project. The statistics and some words we use are different today than they were then, but the expectations remain that dreams are waiting to unfold.
Finding Our Destiny In Life
By Autism Sibs (Meghana & Chetan Junnuru)
Our life like a divine
natural maze
finds us laughing
as we oscillate our centers
between the full spectrum
of autism and neurodiversity
trying to find our destiny in life
We strongly emphasize
that we are writing
from our hearts
and from a deep analysis
and experience
of how autistic bodies
and brains function
Beyond our external façade
throbs innovative and intricate
fire inside us
to create our future while
serving others with autism
Benign in how we see the world
our guidance will create
a very gentle and compassionate
person-centered non-profit
autism center developed by Autistics
The center’s approach will positively
alter the lives of Autistics
otherwise trapped in systems
that are unable to fully serve them
primarily from a lack of
true understanding of autism
Finding Our Destiny in Life is co-written by brother and sister duo Meghana & Chetan Junnuru. Meghana included a poem called “MAY” last year. This year’s poem is co-written by her brother Chetan, who is also a non-speaking autist. They go by the brand name ‘Autism Sibs’ and maintain a blog site (www.growourjoy.org) to express their joy for writing. Their goal is to share their story, inner thoughts and progress with as wide an audience as possible.
Comfort and Joy – A Mother & Daughter Poem
By Athena Maria and Maria Iliou
Bright as a rose
Emotions blossoming
Soothing my soul
Bringing comfort
These memories
Sing a tune, so
Melodic, so in touch
With my soul
Gifts of creativity
Restore a sense of
Passion, in rooms
Of my brain
Comforting motion
In my purple rocking chair, remembering
Brings smiles to my
Face, the happiness
Found in photos
From long ago
A little girl, so
Receptive, sees the
World brightly, as
Sunshine, rainbows
Wonder, and delight
She reflects, with such
Innocent radiance, the
Comfort and joy
I once felt
I want to feel again
***
Look for upcoming installments of the Art of Autism’s Poems and Art for Peace 2018 next week, and the week after, including a breathtaking interview with typing autist, Peter Show Tran, author of My World As A Poem.
For ideas on how to take actions steps in peace, we challenge you to visit http://www.peacedaychallenge.org/peace-day-challenge-ideas-for-action / or https://internationaldayofpeace.org to learn more about World/International Peace Day, September 21st each year.
Header Image Amanda LaMunyon “Chaos to Calm”
Home run! Thank you for the visual and inspirational accounts and dreams.