Homework WE 6/9/21 - Not Useless
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2021 1:50 pm
A challenging set of prompts this time, Maureen - well done on giving us plenty to think about! I ended up choosing just two as the theme for my poem, which is written with a tricky mixed metre. Quite a task to achieve rhythmic consistency, and I'm not sure I've entirely succeeded. But here goes ...
NOT USELESS
(c) Shelley Hansen 29/8/21
“He’s two snags short of a barbie,”
said the people of the town.
“As dumb as boxes of hammers
and he’ll always let you down.
He’s not around when he’s wanted –
he’s asleep beneath some tree.
He lives the life of a dreamer,
so he’s not much good to me!”
Young Isaac wasn’t the same as
other kids who grew up there.
These days they’d call him autistic,
but back then they didn’t care.
They let him be with his musings
which he shared with bushland birds.
He seemed content out with nature,
never needing human words.
A crisis came to the township
when the icy winter fell.
A small girl wandered away from
the surroundings she knew well.
In vain they tried to locate her
but the night was closing fast,
and fears were held for survival –
that her strength just would not last.
Next morning frost formed a carpet
as the search resumed with dread.
The men were faced with the question –
would they find her cold and dead?
Then, deep beneath piles of bracken
that had formed a leafy quilt –
a sight so strange and uplifting
meant their spirits were rebuilt.
Young Isaac found her and kept her
safe and warm all through the night.
Although he lay almost frozen,
she was found to be alright.
They praised him, took him for treatment
and awarded what he’d done.
Not useless – loved and respected
as the town’s own special son!
NOT USELESS
(c) Shelley Hansen 29/8/21
“He’s two snags short of a barbie,”
said the people of the town.
“As dumb as boxes of hammers
and he’ll always let you down.
He’s not around when he’s wanted –
he’s asleep beneath some tree.
He lives the life of a dreamer,
so he’s not much good to me!”
Young Isaac wasn’t the same as
other kids who grew up there.
These days they’d call him autistic,
but back then they didn’t care.
They let him be with his musings
which he shared with bushland birds.
He seemed content out with nature,
never needing human words.
A crisis came to the township
when the icy winter fell.
A small girl wandered away from
the surroundings she knew well.
In vain they tried to locate her
but the night was closing fast,
and fears were held for survival –
that her strength just would not last.
Next morning frost formed a carpet
as the search resumed with dread.
The men were faced with the question –
would they find her cold and dead?
Then, deep beneath piles of bracken
that had formed a leafy quilt –
a sight so strange and uplifting
meant their spirits were rebuilt.
Young Isaac found her and kept her
safe and warm all through the night.
Although he lay almost frozen,
she was found to be alright.
They praised him, took him for treatment
and awarded what he’d done.
Not useless – loved and respected
as the town’s own special son!
- this is excellent and not a subject one normally sees written about either - our autistic kids have so much to cope with in life and are so often misunderstood. 3 of the younger ones in my family suffer from autism and it is a challenge for everyone that's for sure - and indeed these folks are far from useless, far from it in many cases, they just see things from a different spectrum .