This poem is about a boy who I've had the pleasure of getting to know at this summer camp I worked at the past five summers. I won’t disclose his name but in the poem his name is Johnny. The poem is inspired by my good friend Francis Arevalo and his poem “Johnny” and I asked him if I could write a part two and he gave me his blessing.

I know this little boy named Johnny.
He wakes up everyday with his life mapped out by someone else.
The majority of time I spend with him
he makes his living by injecting his own personal brand of chaos.
He does this not to cause trouble or be disruptive
rather he does it because he wants to proclaim
what you have planned for me isn't what I want.
I think there’s a little bit of little Johnny in all of us.

You see Johnny has enough labels on him
you think he might cause cancer.
And for his entire life few have wanted to look beyond them.
What’s wrong with him, why can’t he talk?
He can’t do that because he has autism.
Someone needs to control him.

But you see just because Johnny can’t express himself
like you or I
doesn't mean Johnny’s stupid.
Johnny is human.
And humans think,
and humans think differently than other humans,
and humans who refuse to accept that humans think differently than other humans
are just scared of being human.

See Johnny doesn't need you to do everything for him.
He needs your patience.
He doesn't need you to microwave a moment,
he needs you to hit pause on your world,
and glance into his.

Because Johnny never lives on what ifs,
and at times it can be frustrating
but you know what else is frustrating?
Regrets.
Too often we get caught up in the consequence of the what if
What if I said Hi
What if I said I’m sorry
What if I intervened
What if I told you it wasn't true
What if I mustered up the macho to whisper I love you.

Johnny never acts as if he lives for today
because his world isn't constrained by time
he always behaves as if he lives for now.
Shouldn't we as well?
Because we all have a little bit of Johnny inside of us.

When I’m with Johnny
and no one else is listening
I want to ask him
Hey what are you trying to say?
And I know he won’t say anything
or he might get up and sprint away
or he might hit me or spit on me
but what if he looked at me
as if he wanted to press our foreheads together
so tightly as if he was trying to give the entire world something to meditate on
so that I could look into his world
and he into mine
and not everything would make sense
but it would be a first step.

And if his words weren't trapped inside that bright mind of his
I wonder what he would say.
Would he shrug his shoulders and retreat back into his world
or would he speak
Well now that you mention it
what if everyone stopped being in such a rush?
What if we slowed down, sat down, and got to know each other.
Like really know each other,
not ask what do you do or what your plans are.
But ask what keeps you up at night
what makes your heart skip a beat
what’s the one thing that makes you feel like you’re walking on clouds.
Or why do we need to say anything at all?
If we slowed down wouldn't we notice how a person’s eyes shift when they speak a lie
or how a person sits when their uncomfortable
or how someone looks at a person who can do nothing for them.

And I begin to ask him
and he’ll cut me off before I finish.
Yes, I see all of these things.
And then I’ll ask him
what else do you see?
He’ll speak about all the other kids in his class, as well as the teachers, parents, and anyone else who has given him more than a second glance.
He’ll know all their names and speak about them like they are scholars.
Artists. Scientists. Athletes. Musicians. And they are.
Because Johnny isn't afraid to say
You have the audacity to be amazing.
And what if that’s what all the headlines read
and everyone exercised their vocal chords
and they speak and they speak
and they speak as if they run on sentences
and they have soapboxes for shoes
but at least then someone other than Johnny knows.
Because Johnny isn't stupid.
He is human.
And humans think,
and humans think differently than other humans,
and humans who refuse to accept that humans think differently than other humans
are just scared of being human.

Johnny can’t speak
but he listens.
And he’ll listen to us like the scholars.
Artists. Scientists. Athletes. Musicians. We are.
And we will speak for him.
Because we know there is a little bit of Johnny inside all of us.

Who knows where it’ll lead,
it might become a song
it might become a poem
it might be right
it might be wrong
or it might just belong
but never ever, ever,
ever,
be afraid to speak.