Girl with autism a published poet

Big ups to Sylvia Bonham, 13, of Donelson, who is now a published poet, thanks to the occupational therapy work she has been doing at TriStar Summit’s outpatient rehab center in Hermitage.

Sylvia, who is autistic and has dyslexia, started writing poems there as a way to be able to write for longer periods of time. With help from therapist Devon Tracey, Sylvia wrote “The Beauty of Night,” and Sylvia’s mom helped get it published in the Tennessee Council on Development Disabilities magazine, “Breaking Ground.”

Here’s the poem, which also appears online:

Darkness falls along with the stars
The river shimmers in the moonlight
The frogs and insects sing their song of night
The world listens to the galaxy’s lullaby
And all creatures say
“We shall wait for morning and all its beauty.”

Sylvia’s mom, Jenny, calls this a big deal for her daughter.

“Sylvia is a very smart kid, she just had some trouble expressing herself, especially through writing,” her mom said. “She’s always writing now; it’s awakened this new thing in her, and now we can’t get her to stop!”