Hello everyone,
My name is Sujit Kurup. I am 30 years old and have autism. I have a difficult time being understood as my way of communicating is not traditional. I receive support with typing so my expressions may be better understood. Typing helps me get a message across, but poetry helps me express my heart. Poetry is my safe place where I can experiment creating words and thoughts without judgment.
This poem, “How To Rest,” was borne from frustration. Sometimes my mind keeps me from sleeping, so I am left with many thoughts, alone. “How To Rest” reminds me how tranquil a good night's rest can be. Reading these words helps me ease down, so I hope it does the same to you.
How To Rest
Surrendering to the quiet weight of stillness.
The world retreats to a murmur,
Time stretches into silence.
A deliberate pause,
The breath between thoughts,
A leaf suspended mid-fall
Trembling in its freedom.
In the deep hours,
While the sky forgets its burden of light,
And the stars watch without Judgment,
You become vast as the night.
Resting, belonging to nothing
To float in untethered space
Where the pulse of the universe aligns with your own.
Oh that's beautiful. And I related so hard.
This is an absolutely wonderful poem! My favorite part:
"A leaf suspended mid-fall
Trembling in its freedom.
In the deep hours,
While the sky forgets its burden of light,
And the stars watch without Judgment,
You become vast as the night."
Wow! Such imagery! I don't have autism, but I do have ADHD and also chronic insomnia. My brain goes a million miles a minute. Now I tell people that it's like having 2 browsers open, with 256 tabs open in each of them. I have had insomnia since I was a little girl. I would constantly stare at the ceiling, imagining all kinds of adventures. I love astronomy so I would pretend I was among the stars, drifting through space. I really loved the last 4 lines I pasted above that had to do with stars, and how they watch without judgement. I did get bullied a lot as a kid, stars didn't judge me either. I love astronomy. So that part of your poem really resonated with me. I also love the trees in the fall and watching leaves fall. Your words are definitely going to stick with me when I see leaves fall now. And also, when I look up into the night sky. :-).