Marilyn McHaffie       [ Poem 1 | Poem 2 | Photography ]

The Child in Me

The child in me is here to stay
She’s the girl who likes walks on a rainy day,
She’s the one who smells flowers covered with dew
The one who sneezes and says “Bless You”.

She’s a child with smiles, happiness, and light
The child who will not go to bed at night,
She’s the part that is giving and wishes to share
The child who wants to tell you she cares.

She likes going to the park for a ride on the swing
She likes to talk and will believe anything,
Sometimes she is unpleasant, obnoxious, or rude
On certain occasions she has been known to brood.

She has her faults as all people do
But she cries when she hurts just like you,
Everyone is not who you see
As I splash in the puddles it is the child in me.

by Marilyn McHaffie 2002

An Encounter with a Stranger

I watched as he approached the bus. There was nothing really unusual about him other than the sunglasses he wore on a fairly cloudy day. As he boarded the bus he looked at me as if he was going to sit next to me. I must have had a look of fear on my face. It would be the look of a person that really didn't want anyone sitting next to them and touching them on a crowded and noisy bus. It was the fear of a person who is near sensory overload.

He sits across from me and removes his sunglasses. There is something familiar about him. Suddenly the radio speaker goes off with a woman's voice. It is loud, cutting and of a high pitch. I cringe from the noise and the man across the bus puts his hands over his ears. The conversation continues sporadically and each time the woman’s voice is heard we have the same reactions as before.

If the man was sitting next to me I would have commented on how her voice was very sharp. As he was not, our looks to each other with pained expressions told the story. It was awhile until the bus left but it felt like an eternity.

As we started our ride the sun glared and my eyes automatically closed and I turned my head away. I did notice the look the man gave me when I did this. He recognized my sensory issues and understood them. I wonder if he thought that I should be wearing sunglasses.

It was a strange bus ride as we noticed each others sensory discomforts but could not speak of what we knew. We both got up to leave the bus at the same time. I did not watch to see which way he went but knew that he likely lived within a block of my apartment. After years of feeling alone in the world and of feeling unlike any other I found someone like myself.

Whether he had hyperlexia and autism as I do or whether he had another condition, it did not matter. What mattered was that for a brief period of time I was in the presence of someone who understood.

© Marilyn McHaffie 2004