• Home

    Home


  • Articles

    Articles


  • Happenings

    Happenings


  • Eksentriks

    Eksentriks


  • Community

    Community

  • Home
  • Articles  ▾
    • Arts
    • Culture
    • Films
    • Literature
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Photography
    • Poems
    • Stories
  • Happenings
  • Artist Registry
  • Community
  • Contributors

  • Submit Post
  • Submit Event
  • Contact Us

  • What is Eksentrika?
  • Advertise with Eksentrika
  • FAQ
  • Help
  • Eksentrika Facebook
  • Eksentrika Instagram
  • Eksentrika Twitter
  • Eksentrika Linkedin
  • Eksentrika Telegram
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Happenings
  • Artist Registry
  • Community
Arts & Culture Malaysia | Eksentrika
Eksentrika Login
POETRY | Autumn by Juliana Heng
Juliana Heng

Written by Juliana Heng

POETRY | Autumn by Juliana Heng

Share this article via


When I was a kid,
I was an oddball.
Nobody wanna play with me,
except Autumn.

Autumn plays with me everyday
Have meals with me during recess
and went to the library with me to disappear
into good books together.

I cannot focus on my homework.
Autumn coaxed me gently :
“Finish your homework fast fast,
then we can play together!”
We finished our homework before school ended.
Such maturity for a young child.

Autumn is an enigma.
The moment she landed her eyes
on your phone number & IC number,
she will call you on your birthday every year
without the need to jot down!

One day, some of my classmates said to me :
“Loser, you are unworthy
& won’t amount to anything in life!”
As the world around me crashes,
Autumn came over to cup my ears,
mouthing these words :
“You are awesome,
You are enough,
You are loved.”

Autumn is not perfect.
Autumn can be hard to hang out with at times.
Her obsession with order &
straight lines in her homework,
random echoing of people’s words,
peculiar way of clapping her hands,
can be very annoying.

She disliked it when I hug strangers.
“Hey, you gotta know the person first
before letting them hug you, k?

Despite her Yin & Yang,
I enjoyed her company most of the time.
She taught me
how not to give a fuck
& love myself no matter what!

We studied hard & graduated!

Now comes the time to find a job.
I went for a job interview,
aced it and got hired.

“Congratulations, Juliana!
You are hired!”
“Thanks, can you do me a favour?”
“What will that be?”

“Can you hire my special friend?
Her name is Autumn.
She is a hard worker
with strong work ethic.

My boss said :
“I am sorry.
We only hired you.
Leave Autumn out of this.”

I was shocked.
I was sad.
Because Autumn is not just a friend.
Autumn is a part of me.
Autumn is the name of my autism.

As an autistic,
we are earnestly seeking acceptance.

Hear me out : “We are so unique
that people find it so hard to understand
& labelled us as a puzzle
when in fact we are the one who completes the puzzle.

My nickname as a child is Jar Jar Binks.
Given by my own mum.
Because I am awkward & drop things often.

In Star Wars, people said that
Jar Jar Binks is George Lucas’s mistake.

I disagreed.
Perhaps George is already factoring
“Neurodiversity” & “Autism Acceptance”
into Star Wars to include
this special group of people.

A friend once asked me to park
at a disabled parking spot.
I said I can’t because I don’t have an OKU card.

My friend asked me why I did not apply.
I said I will never apply unless they change it to
OBU ~ Orang Beza Upaya.

The first 2 letters of Autism is “AU”.
“AU” is the symbol for gold
in the Periodic Table of Elements.
Therefore, the inner world of an autistic is GOLD.

*** Header image by vcnestasozinhx from Pixabay

Are you a writer or a poet? Share your short stories and poems with us at editors@eksentrika.com. Read our FAQ before submitting. Here’s another piece. 

POETRY | You Bake Me Crazy by Jane Ng

Hey guys, this was an enjoyable read. I want more content such as this in my inbox.


Tags: Juliana Heng
Juliana Heng

Contribute Your Writings

We accept short stories, poems, opinion pieces, essays, and features on a complimentary basis.

Submit Here

Write Short Stories

Other Stories You May Like

20 Teenagers Share Their Pandemic Stories In Brigitte Rozario’s Anthology

Sukhbir Cheema

Submit Your Short Stories And Poems To These Asian Literary Journals

Sukhbir Cheema

Lawyer Gives Birth To Triplets While Undertaking PhD. Publishes A Book About It.

Sukhbir Cheema

Malaysian Independent Publishers And Bookstores You MUST Support

Suet Fun

The Reason MPH Is Closing Down Its Bookstores Is Not What You Think It Is

Risal Pena Catalina

You Need To Know These Award Winning Malaysian Children’s Book Illustrators

Eksentrika

About Eksentrika

At Eksentrika, we tell stories and share ideas about the arts, culture and people, from a little desk in Malaysia. From poems, short stories, reviews, opinions and essays related to the arts, we receive them all with opens arms.

Quick Links

  • About Us

  • Contact Us

  • Advertise

  • FAQ

  • Help

Join Our Newsletter


All Rights Reserved © 2020 Eksentrika | Web Design by eJeeban Design

  • Eksentrika Facebook
  • Eksentrika Instagram
  • Eksentrika Twitter
  • Eksentrika Linkedin
  • Eksentrika Telegram