sometimes my fingers tingle with emotional pain

did my therapist just fire me for my autistic brain

i find a new hold on my struggle

like that hidden room in my house

your scent a silken foam on a bubble 

on the stratosphere 

well that’s how is smells to me.

three punctured wheels transport me 

to a helpful little place

they can’t replace my tube, 

but confirm my diagnosis

and i return to you and sandpaper away the imperfections

but we are sure to leave a few, 

so that things can be perfect enough as they are

besides, all good souls forgive each and every imperfection.

strictly speaking, speaking as an unqualified solicitor, every meal i have eaten out has been a breach of contract on my part. you see, when the waiter says, have you got any allergies? i always say, not so far thank you.

but i do have an allergy. shinguards. when i was a schoolboy footballer, i insisted on getting the ‘proper’ shinguards. like a toeless sock, it provided some ankle cover, as well as holding plastic armour against the shin. they felt much sturdier and more protective than the flimsy sort that you just inserted into the front of your sock.

but actually the design was perfect bad. they would get wet with rain and sweat and my shins would get itchy. and i love a scratch. after a month or two, my legs were a state. red raw. the doctor told me i couldn’t play football until the shins got better. i had to sit out of gym class. and the other children at school made fun of me. they called me and my girlfriend itchy and scratchy. 

anyway, it was only many years later i realised that the professionals don’t use that type of shinguards. and that actually footballers prioritise the way their kit fits.

anyway, i guess it doesn’t really matter as shinguards aren’t an ingredient in any type of restaurant cuisine, meaning my failure to disclose my pre-existing condition is probably not material to the consensus on idem re buying a meal at a restaurant.