how to survive a flood of stupidity

This week’s poem comes from Graciela Lotharius.

how to survive a flood of stupidity I think the best way is to drown it out with a lot of care and communion with likeminded souls who skillfully cut through the noise to the truth and can also make good better than evil challenging the stay-out-of-it crowd is calling to me because we need all voices to be part of the conversation in order to be able to design effective solutions for everyone when we are being heard we have a chance to be fully understood I have a lot to say but is anyone giving a damn? I am authentically autistic and proud of it! I am so tired of being seen as a person who needs to be forced into believing something about themselves that is just not true and I am tired of being a problem that needs a solution can we look for solutions that support us instead of stigmatizing us even more? I need a lot of love, care, and concern for my future I do not need a lot of pathologizing of my autism 

Wanted Perceptions

This week’s poem, “Wanted Perceptions,” is by Kani Krishnan, the author of New Horizons (you can find the ebook here).

Kani introduces himself this way:

I’m a nomad collecting words as I roam the jungles of mind watching

The happenings that happen to happen in the range of my vicinity

Just watching imbibing living all at once

WANTED PERCEPTIONS There is a myth that you are alone in your lonely shell There is a myth that you are apart from the other There is a myth that you can be happy amongst the sad There is a myth that you take yours along with you There is a myth that you are the best of all There is a silent laughter I hear How can I hear silence, maybe feel It doesn’t matter What matters is that the silent space Surrounding all is teeming with life And its blessings I feel sad if I see you sad I see the dead leaving it all Except their self I see betters all around me All knowing eyes share the warmth Of a knowing smile As understanding dawns 

If the answer is “yes,” what is the question

Our poem this week arrives by way of last month’s Neurolyrical Cafe, where it was prompted and compiled by Sarah Teresa Cook. It is a collaborative poem written in the moment by dozens of nonspeaking poets. Consider joining us virtually this month at 7pm ET on Friday, September 26th!

If the answer is “yes,” what is the question Will I heal completely and forevermore? Yes WILL YOU CHANGE A BELIEF IN AN INSTANT? Yes Do you wanna have some fun? Yes DO YOU HEAR ME? Yes Do you choose love over hate? Yes WOULD YOU LIKE PIZZA AND A VANILLA MILKSHAKE? Yes How can I make sense of this world? Yes Do you see my truth? Yes IS AUTISM A GIFT? Yes Have you seen a walking miracle today? Yes Will you show up for me? Yes IS KINDNESS FREE TO GIVE? Yes Can nonspeakers change the world? Yes Can you hear what I hear? Yes Is my element earth, water, or air? Yes Is love the answer? Yes Want to travel with me? Yes Will the other become another? Yes IS LOVE FOR EVERYONE Yes Are our destinies intertwined? Yes Is your heart so red? Yes Am I here? Yes

Walking in the Dark

This week’s poem comes from a great soul, Mark Eati. We hope it inspires you to take time to feel your humanness again.

Walking in the Dark  I see Mahatma Gandhi His stick shooing away crowds He sat irritable and tired In the middle of nowhere Eating peanuts and dry corn Multiple crowds walked to him To check on his wellbeing Not understanding He needed time to be alone To feel his humanness again They do not understand Great souls need silence To carry the weight One must sometimes return To embrace themselves within This was a lesson for me I am a disabled person Responsible for the disabled With no time to rest or recharge Inside my golden base 

Publication Day

Readers of this newsletter know Sid Ghosh well. Any readers who happen to be near Portland this weekend, should join us at the incomparable Powell’s City of Books for a reading and conversation, celebrating the launch of Sid’s debut collection of poems, Yellow Flower Gills Me Whole. And readers everywhere should get their copy today! Happy Publication Day, Sid!