Sidney Skyler, the sky in his name, heart on his sleeve,
A mind that drew places hard to believe.
Homesick for a place he's been seeking,
A skyline full of colors he was too shy of revealing.
Sidney Skyler, talking to himself in his sleep,
Somethings left unsaid, it seems.
Poppies and promises, from a lucid dream,
Watching the curtains dance in the breeze.
Sidney Skyler, days he'd wake up singing,
Knowing summer wasn't a season, but a feeling.
Hanging from his rooftop upside down,
To see the sunrays flood the town.
Sidney Skyler, he stutters when he speaks,
A smile he hides, biting the inside of his cheeks.
He closes his eyes and ruffles his hair,
Every time he's the subject of someone's stare.
Sidney Skyler, watching shadows kill the moon,
How people call it "phases", saying it passes soon.
But he thinks the moon ebbs away,
Each time it falls harder, for the sun's rays.
Sidney Skyler, gravity couldn't ground him,
From a mind, that takes him places he's never been.
And though he may seem different, in so many ways,
We breathe the same air and gaze into the same space.
Sidney Skyler, never thought autism was a disorder,
Rather the place they named where his mind wandered.
By Rhea Pandkar (BCA 2022-25)