She Explained
A young autistic man runs on the pitch during a football match
She was distracted
and he ran on the pitch
in an instinctive,
uninhibited,
exhilarating chase
along the right wing.
He out-stripped
the startled player,
gave the ball
an almighty kick
and followed up
with a round of applause
as he watched it
cannon off the post
and career into the stands.
She explained
that he always clapped
when he was proud
of something he’d achieved,
so they all laughed
and agreed
it was an excellent kick,
most of them applauded
and someone shouted,
“Well done, that man!”
He suffered
her gentle admonishment
when he returned
dutifully to her side
and the match
attained normality
as he retreated
back to his world,
with his secret smile
perceptibly wider.
A heart-warmth of telling – the smile is a marvel – allets
Thanks for your comment, Stella. It’s based on a true story of when my autistic son ran on the pitch during a football game. The story was related to me by one of his carers who’d taken him to a local match. She told me his smile was something to behold.