Sam Creech

Sam, currently a junior at Geneseo State (New York) and son of Awe in Autism.org co-founder Kim Covell, wrote this poem in his junior year of high school for an AP literature course. Sam struggled to find inspiration until one day he noted that it was right in front of his eyes: his brother who has autism. This poem is the result of that inspiration and was included in his high school's literary magazine. The following year, Sam was named Poet of the Year at the school.

"For me, Dylan's life is an amazing experience in itself, an experience most people won't have. I think most folks couldn't begin to imagine what a mind like Dylan's is like, how he thinks, how he reacts emotionally, and how he views the world around him. From an artistic perspective, I feel like exploring that type of mind through poetry, and art has such great potential for powerful and beautiful statements. As a young poet, the world of Dylan was simply too fascinating for me to not be inspired by it. Beyond the artistic exploration of autism, the poem is also simply an ode to a brother of mine who I love."   -Sam 

Dylan

by Sam Creech

up in the little box where

the drafts swelled tightly

rays peaked through the triangles

that couldn’t be reached,

you wanted to be alone

couldn’t tell what i was thinking

but i was just glad to see you

framing my doorway again—

it was like

the moment we first met

flew across the field

as frozen grass

wilted and fell because you,

with a yelp and a cry, saw something

the rest of us didn’t

figures crawled all over you

that researched reviewed reported,

didn’t understand right from wrong

didn’t understand what you

knew all along

always have been blinded

from what’s really inside

but by god i swear,

little brother, you deserve

peace.