Poems By: Scott Lentine

I received a email from Scott and he wanted to share some poems with everyone so here he is:

 Just a Normal Day

Never knowing what to say

Never knowing what to do

Always looking for clues

Just a normal day

Feeling unsure

Totally perplexed with everyday life

Always on edge never certain

I wish I could lift this curtain

Needing to constantly satisfy my need for information

Always online searching for new revelations

Going from site to site

Obtaining new insights every night

Trying to connect with people my age

Attempting to reveal my unique vision

But ending up alone and unengaged

Feeling like my needs a total revision

Just a normal day

 Can’t You See

Can’t you see

I just want to have a friend

Can’t you see

I need the same connections in the end

Can’t you see

I want a good job

Can’t you see

I need to have stability and dependence and part of the general mob

Can’t you see

I want to be independent on my own

Can’t you see

I want to be able to have my own home

Can’t you see

I want the same things as everyone else

Can’t you see

I want to be appreciated for myself

  The Ode to the Autistic Man

Try to understand the challenges that I face

I would like to be accepted as a human in all places

Where I will end up in life I don’t know

But I hope to be successful wherever I go

I would like to expand my social skills in life

Making new friends would be very nice

Stand proud for the autistic man

For he will find a new fan

I hope to overcome the odds I face today

Increased acceptance will lead me to a brighter day

By the age of 20, I will have made tremendous strides

I know in the future, life will continue to be an interesting ride

I have made new friends by the year

I will be given tremendous respect by my family and peers

I hope to get noted for bringing the issue of autism to the common man

So that autistic people can be accepted in this great land

Stand proud for the autistic man

For he will find a new fan

I hope to overcome the odds I face today

Increased acceptance will lead me to a brighter day

Marshfield Memories poem

Today is a beautiful day on the beach
There are plenty of people and dogs to see
The water is warm and the sky is bright
And seeing some people flying a kite

I am having a fun time with cousins and friends
Hoping that this day will never end
The ocean and sands are comfortable and feel so right
Taking a walk towards Brant Rock in the strong sunlight

Now it is the evening of the third of July
Watching the amazing fireworks from the seawall go by
Talking with family about the latest moments of the day
And meeting some new friends along the way

It was a great time on the beach today
Reading a book and going into the ocean on a bright clear day
These are moments that I will remember for a long time
Being on the beach on a nice warm day is truly sublime

I am Scott Lentine, a 25 year old man with high-functioning autism (PDD-NOS/Asperger's) from Billerica, Massachusetts, outside of Boston and summer resident of Fieldston Beach, Marshfield, south of Boston. I was diagnosed at 18 months and lost some speech, but gained back the speech at 5 years old. I graduated from Merrimack College magna cum laude with a Bachelor's Degree in Religious Studies with a Biology minor. I am currently an office intern at the Arc of Massachusetts in Waltham, where I try to persuade lawmakers to pass key disability resources legislation to improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities. I am interested in data clerical entry duties, hospital settings, autism non-profit organizations, and research type work. I have some poems about autism in this email that I wanted you read and show to additional people you know on the spectrum and their families and friends. My autism song poems are now featured on Claire LaZebnik's blog, Susan Senator's blog, John Elder Robison's Look Me in the Eye blog, Jess Wilson's Diary of a Mom blog, Lisa Quinones Fontanez's Autism Wonderland blog, the Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid blog, Cheryl Dorfman's blog, Flannery Sullivan's Living on the Spectrum: The Connor Chronicles blog and Seth Mnookin's PLOS blog. The reviews from commenters have been great! My poems have also been featured on Ellen Seidman's Love that Max blog and Dr. Tony Attwood's blog as well. I regularly communicate via email with people such as Alysia Butler, Stephen Shore, Susan Senator, and John Elder Robison. My poems have gotten praise from entertainers such as Paul Krassner, Tom Rush, John Sebastian, drummer Chad Wackerman, singer Gary Portnoy (he did the theme song to the TV classic Cheers), trailer voice over artist Don Morrow, songwriter/composer Van Dyke Parks, journalists Anna Tarkov and Sacha Pfeiffer of WBUR (Boston's NPR station), Chicago (band) singer Bill Champlin, punk legend Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys, and saxophonist Dave Koz. My interests include meeting new people, dogs, the beach in Marshfield, going to Boston, traveling, modern science, politics, various religions, movies, going to concerts, listening to music, poetry, and visiting my cousins and other relatives, especially my grandmother on Mom's side.  I even got a support letter email from President Obama for autism advocacy. I would also like to have health care coverage and employment/social services expanded for people on the autism spectrum during the second term of Obama's presidency.