Community is a powerful thing, seeing others share poems has made me want to share too so here is a poem I created about a child with PDA!
โ
They say I wonโt
before Iโve tried.
They say I could
if only I would.
But wanting and doing
are not the same inside.
I want so badly it hurts.
To get it right,
to make you proud,
to be easy to love.
Then the fear arrives.
Loud.
Uninvited.
Certain.
Fear that if I fail,
youโll sigh that familiar sigh.
Fear that trying will prove
I am the problem.
So my body says no
even when my heart is screaming yes.
Please understand โ
this isnโt defiance.
Itโs survival.
A nervous system
ringing alarms
where others hear encouragement.
Iโm not avoiding effort.
Iโm protecting hope.
Because if I donโt try,
I can still believe
I might succeed.
If you sit with me in the stuck,
if you donโt measure me by speed or obedience,
something loosens.
And one day, quietly,
without being told to,
I will reach out and try.
Not because I was forced,
but because I felt safe enough
to risk failing
and still be held. โค๏ธ