GLASS CASTLE

A poem written by an adult with Asperger's was shared with me. It follows:

i have built and live in all around me

a castle made of glass for all to see

it reflects the sun in a dazzling way

so as to keep the intruders at bay

it stands atop a verdant hill

away from where the villagers mill

its clean façade a temple makes

for clean efficient infallible grace

its prism walls do split the light

till rainbows do my soul ignite

i sit at my window and i see

how the others live away from of me

they live, laugh, cry, work, love, hate and die

while i first count the clouds, then stars in the sky

and though their homes sink and sag and then fall

my castle stands silent immovable through all

its construction is clockwork, its lines perfect clean

no fault can be found in its faces seen

i tell no one the castle is cold in the night

that its rooms are empty, its windows sealed tight

its walls are clean but cannot hold fast

and they give scant protection when stones are cast

and when the clocks strike midnight, morning, noon

it is only me in my still quiet room

and the castle i built for silent safety

is locked by the one with no key, no key

-anonymous