First Responses

I hear it in their voices,

the shaky place inside

that doesn’t quite know what to say

to a mother that is facing the unbearable.

 

I hear the relief

drip from their forehead,

as they thank the Almighty

that this crisis did not happen to them.

 

Thanking the divine

that for now,

their children are spared.

 

I see them go about their normal days

where they watch their own children play,

and little worries come and go.

 

I go home to a house full of therapists

and celebrate

the simple interaction

of my son’s hand in mine,

 

as we walk and walk,

walk away

with the unsayable diagnosis. 

 

Jennie Linthorst is a therapeutic writing coach and the founder of LifeSPEAKS Poetry Therapy. She works privately with men and women helping them tell their stories and heal, through reading and writing poetry and personal essays. Jennie coaches clients all across the country and around the world via phone, Skype, e-mail, in addition to in person meetings. She is the author of a book of poems, Autism Disrupted: A Mother's Journey of Hope. Her family’s story is captured in the award-winning documentary film, “Autistic-Like: Graham’s Story”.