By Dianne Loyet

3 poems about being autistic.

1. Please

i keep the world’s chaos at bay
by classifying and quantifying its minutia
seven times i hear "cross street with caution vehicles may not stop"
two steps i take across one square of sidewalk
i am captain kirk keeping the sky in place
by noticing all of these things
and making sure they stay the same
you are the enemy of order
trying to tear down the sky
when you act differently
because you say "hey" instead of "good morning"
maybe my key will not work in the lock
because you hung your jacket on the wrong hook
maybe something will go wrong with my computer
only two feet from the wrinkle
that you ironed into the fabric of the universe
please observe the order of the universe please stop being chaotic please

2. Goals

Goals stay
Just out of reach
In a wild game of tag,
And they taunt me, for always I
Am it

3. Stuck

Competing priorities chase their tails
In my stomach
Spinning a vortex of anxiety

Dianne Loyet Bio

I am a 57-year-old woman diagnosed with autism at the age of 48. I live in Illinois, where I have spent most of my life, but I have also lived in California, Ohio, and New Jersey. Until 2018 I taught academic writing to non-native speakers of English, but now I am a freelance writer. I have been trying to capture my inner life in poetry since my teenage years.