We, the unhinged, 
have come to greet you,
welcome you to our fold
in the middle of the day,
in the middle of the night.
We may smirk while you contort
your eyebrows, your eyes, the corners
of your mouth into shadowy screams, 
but the taste of your blood 
on our tongues, and ours onto yours,
soothes our souls, calms our minds.
Your screams drown out ours.
Is that not the point?
How sad it is one day
you will become 
used to us, numb to us, bored of us. 
But that is the day
in the middle of the night, 
in the middle of the day,
you will be sewn
into our fold forever

Danielle Wong is the author of the poetry collection Bubble Fusion that portrays life with an autistic child. Her work has appeared in Montreal Writes, Pine Cone Review, Plato’s Cave Online, SETU Magazine, Special Edition 2023, Chronicling the Days (Guernica Editions), Resistance (University of Regina Press), among others. She is currently working on a story poem for children. Visit her at danielle wong.