Unfair, unfathomable!
Solid reasoning thrown to the fire,
In favour of etiquette, the manners of the superior!
Surely truth is better than fake flattery, fabricated compliments-
Better words be straight than bent.
Call me hell-sent if you will,
My bluntness may be an odd divergence from the norm-
But I would rather tell the truth, be in the right-
Than tell the blind they have sight!
What is this organisation of cordialities?
So natural to the sheep , the crowd.
Not to me, their obviousness, so bewildering.
Shall I try and fit in?
Force my heart and mind into a unnatural contortion?
I would if I could-
I sometimes ponder.
But it is a impossibility, an unattainable objective…
So I stay as I am-
In this crowd of socialites, those who are energised by other people, a self perpetual cycle!
I stay as I am-
An awkward, inelegant introvert-
The outspoken, odd one out…
But no matter if I stay quiet,
Or if I shout-
Some will stay perplexed at my differentness
This disposition I hold-
Some will always think me somewhat cold
And so they leave me, altogether overwhelmed…
Written by me and originally published in Sharnoff’s Global Views.
A Poem A Day 
This is very wise, in a broken-down, layman, easily relatable way. I didn’t even know this has anything to do with Aspergers or anything medically aberrant until I saw the tags. For me, this was just a well-rounded person making a stand about the norms and how to conduct himself in society. I can think of so many pieces of literature this can be considered a response to (Clara Ingram Judson’s story The Green Ginger Jar being the most notable, because I am Asian and I’ve always told my husband, who’s American, that our politeness is not weakness, but a politically motivated disposition that our ancestors have seen work to their advantage and hence stuck to and kept passing down to us; another one is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon). All in all, this poem you’ve written is a GREAT discussion piece, and it triggered many thoughts in me. Good work!
There should be an end-tag on the Italics after the word “Night-time”. Sorry for that. >_<
Thank you for the comments. 🙂
Reblogged this on Appalachian aspie..
I like this a lot. It made me think about my son asking me why everyone calls him rude and why can’t he say things that are true like “that lady has a mustache “. Lol
Haha this made me laugh. I relate to that, reminds me of a quote: “What’s wrong with some people? You give someone an honest compliment on their moustache and suddenly she’s not your friend anymore!” Thanks for the comments. 🙂
Lol! Too funny 🙂 you’re welcome. I’ll keep looking for your posts!
Reblogged this on DIFFERENT, LIKE YOU. and commented:
Fantastic criticism of social norms, etiquette, behavioral expectations and moreover the relativity of what is a disability. Thank you. Also, It’s refreshing to be re-blogging some poetry. If you’d like to have some more work featured in the future, let me know. Or if you know anyone that would be interested in having their writing, art or music featured. 🙂
I like your word choice, and the synergy between the subject and the structure. Slavic people, in general, are honest and blunt, so I don’t really stand out. However, I often wondered why Westerners “can’t handle the truth.”
Thanks for the comments. This poem only deals with a few of the characteristics of Aspergers, but I find it interesting that western-influenced cultures are more sensitive when it comes to tact. 🙂
Reblogged this on A poem of mine a day 🙂 and commented:
An old(ish) poem which I felt like pushing to the top. 🙂