HeyJaredDavid Rizzo
I am the father of an adult daughter with autism. I have written several books about the spiritual journey of special needs parents and their children.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 8
- Latest publication
- Sep 27, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 4, 2026
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Siren Song (opens the original)
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Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedSIREN SONG Persephone’s protectors sang to me And I in madness, bound to mast, was thrilled By their ethereal song. Longing filled Every crevice of eternity. I would have jumped into the churning sea To face a frigid maelstrom as it swirled And pulled me down that instant to be killed But for my comrades. How did they agree To forego such a seduction, their ears plugged With beeswax, rowing through honey and not Dipping a fi
Mysterium Fidei (opens the original)
Mysterium Fidei (opens the original)
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My adult daughter Danielle is non-verbal due to her autism. She uses pictures to communicate her wants and needs, and whatever is on her mind. Usually she does this with a speech generating app on her iPad but every once in a while she will use little laminated pictures called PECS, which is short for Picture Exchange Communication System. She hands it to you and you have to point to the picture and say what it is. I wrote a poem about this and somehow it morphed into a short poetic reflection o
Sneak Peek at a Poem in Progress (opens the original)
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This is the first section of a three part poem I’m working on. I especially want to thank my friend who has been providing me much needed advice and moral support as I muddle through. I frequently get bogged down with these longer projects and sometimes feel like I’m spinning my wheels. My intention is to do something analogous to a sonata form in music which contrasts and modulates several themes across three sections —exposition, development, and recapitulation. What I’m showing you here is th
A Poem Beginning With A Stanza By Jennifer Howard (opens the original)
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I didn’t intend to write this poem but I was so struck by the opening stanza of a poem I was reading by fellow Substack poet Jennifer Howard called Persephone’s Bouquet.1 Something sparked in me and I was inspired to write two more stanzas to produce a new poem aptly entitled A Poem Beginning With A Stanza By Jennifer Howard. The prompt created by her poem generated in me an unexpected shift and segue to a short poem about the horrors of war. Quite frequently this sort of magic happens on Substa
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