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Apr 04, 2026
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We Laugh Instead
Rewriting Memory
…and how does my family and I deal with trauma?
By making silly jokes of course after the fact
How do I handle a situation and drama?
With some sarcastic humor to remain intact
Along the way I’ve also learned to read the room
It’s been a bit of a challenge with autism
Though sometimes I’ve been off-putting and a weird loon
It’s usually been my coping mechanism
But in those rare times whenever tragedy struck
I’ve been sympathetic, sensitive and kind
And once those broken bones are fully healed up
I’ll bring it up like, “hey, remember that one time…?”
Life is full of surprises – like Greek tragedies
And some will present themselves like allegories
The challenge will be to have some great strategies
So you can later tell those jokes with real stories
Yes, there were a couple of times I fumbled
My quips and gags were bad and a little unhinged
And for the times I learned I was also humbled
Because rewriting some memories makes me cringe
About This Poem
Last Few Words: NaPoWriMo2026 Day 4
Review Request Direction: Is the internal logic consistent?
Review Request Intensity: I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back
Editing Stage: Editing - polished draft
Comments
Ray Bear
2 weeks 5 days ago
A very powerful
take on using humour as a survival tool . Enjoyed this poem very much. Just a side thought the meter could be tightened in a couple of areas
Geezer
2 weeks 5 days ago
I think that...
we all put our foot in our mouths now and then.
Some of us do it a little more frequently than others.
No matter how many times it happens, we are always mortified that our remarks were misconstrued or our perception of the situation were likewise misunderstood. This is a good piece about those times. I would imagine that having Autism is a further challenge.
I agree with Ray Berar and the A.I. that your meter could use a little bit of tightening.
…and how does our family deal with trauma?
By making silly jokes after the fact
How do I handle situations, drama?
With sarcastic humor to remain intact
Along the way I’ve learned to read the room
it’s been a real challenge with autism
Though sometimes I’ve been off-putting, a loon,
it’s usually been my coping mechanism
I would look at those odd lines and rethink of how to present them.
I do believe that a skilled orator could do this by switching some punctuation around and adding some here and there. Your opening line is thought provoking; what prompted the question? It made me feel as though I were eavesdropping, or just randomly overhearing a conversation. ~ Geez.