One-Word Poetry and Other Emergencies

One-Word Poetry and Other Emergencies

Unapologetically Autistic or Unreasonably Creative

It’s been a minute.

When I joined Thriving Autistic as a monthly meetup facilitator back in October, I didn’t know what I was in for. My first rooms were about pets, assistance dogs, food, sensory difficulties. Then came connection, intimacy, regulation, burnout, migration. I got to nerd out with ideas like the paracoxial theory of change, artificial intelligence. And somehow, all of that led to this month’s theme. Born from a last-minute idea, a full-blown creative emergency.

If you’ve been to a Thriving Autistic meetup, you’ve met the lovely facilitators who pour their care into each room. It took me a while to figure out what kind of space I wanted to hold, and I remember those first meetups being… quiet. Empty-ish. And of course, the “Am I doing this right?” question crept in.

Then someone gently reminded me:

Quality, not numbers.

That gave me the space to find my way, to explore.

Like many others who come to these meetups, I also want to be in a space where everyone can show up unapologetically Autistic. Whether too loud, too quiet, too shy, too intense, too foreign, too queer, too other. Spaces where we’re not just tolerated but genuinely welcomed. The so-called flaws, misunderstood and imposed by neuroconformist standards (thank you, Teri) (Kansted:2025).

It took me time to realise that the magic isn’t in numbers or performance, but in connection. In shared understanding. In the weird, wonderful energy that can exist when no one’s pretending.

So this month, the magic came in the form of flow.

Monotropism (Murray, 2020, Edgar, 2025). Flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 2009, Edgar, 2025). And yes, creative emergency (May, 1975).

Don’t ask me why. The idea just came out of nowhere, and maybe that’s the point. Sometimes the best things happen when you stop overthinking.

And in one of those moments, my monotropic mind started to wonder: why are there no one-word poems? Why isn’t “one-word poetry” a thing? Surely a single word can carry enough meaning on its own.

So that’s what I invited people to try:

Create a one-word poem. Just one word.
Real, made-up, mashed together, misspelled, sensory, emotional, abstract!
Whatever feels right.
Don’t overthink.

30 seconds.
What followed was beautiful.

So, what does all this mean?

Let me ask you:
Did you roll your eyes at any of those?
Did one of them remind you of something? Sweet, painful, confusing?
Did a word make you pause, even for a second?
Did your mind go quiet?

That’s why I think this is art.

Because it’s stripped to the bare minimum, and it still makes something happen. Even if your reaction is “ugh,” that’s still a reaction. That’s still connection.

Great art isn’t always polished. It’s not tidy or clever or perfect. It just moves something. And that’s what happened in that room.

I’m grateful to be part of a community that makes room for creativity. For weird thoughts, last-minute ideas, and the joy of doing things just because they feel good.

The next meetup is in September. Until then, have a beautiful, curious summer.

List of Referenced Writing

• Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2009). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. HarperPerennial.
• Edgar, H. (2025). Embracing Autistic Children’s Monotropic Flow States. Neurodiverse Connection. https://ndconnection.co.uk/blog/embracing-autistic-childrens-monotropic-flow-states
• Kansted, T. (2025). Neuro-conformity. NeuroStory Collective. https://www.neurostorycollective.com/blog/neuro-conformity
• May, R. (1975). The courage to create. W. W. Norton & Company. Inc.
• Murray, D. (2020). Monotropism: An Interest-Based Account of Autism. In Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders (pp. 1–3). Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102269-2