Poem: "We're All Mad"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem came out of the October 7, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by a prompt from alexseanchai.  It also fills the "love without hope" square on my 9-1-14 card for the ladiesbingo  fest.  This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.  It belongs to the series Polychrome Heroics.


"We're All Mad"


A woman is a castle tall,
a moat and gate and curtain wall --
you can't break through and can't get in
so you camp out beside her then.

A woman is a force of law,
like nature's squall is filled with awe --
you cannot hope to understand
so you stay close as her right hand.

We're all mad in here together,
scent of mud and moor and heather,
from a word of song and science
to a weird kind of alliance --
we're all mad.

A stalker isn't moved by love,
That isn't what I'm singing of;
She wants a partner, needs a friend --
That's what it comes to, in the end.

Her heart's a magnet to your steel;
You cannot help the way you feel --
Surrender to her citadel;
You'll both be grateful that you fell.

We're all mad in here together,
scent of mud and moor and heather,
from a word of song and science
to a weird kind of alliance --
we're all mad.

Garage or kitchen, home or lab,
Computer, lever, switch or tab --
The things she touches are but tools
The ones who follow are but fools.

Yet take her as the way she is,
A pretty girl and science whiz --
The mysteries will disappear
'Til all of life comes clean and clear.

We're all mad in here together,
scent of mud and moor and heather,
from a word of song and science
to a weird kind of alliance --
we're all mad, yes we're mad!

* * *

Notes:

This poem is actually a popular song by Dr. Laser and the Nocturnal Emissions.  It's about the Socket's crush on Fortressa, first mentioned in "Pulling Pigtails" which despite the supervillain context is actually one of the healthiest relationships featured in this setting.  It's a love song about mismatched passion turned platonic, the connection concealed in kennings about castles and laboratories. Misty Morn wrote it for Nightshade to sing, based on some carefully edited stories from Nightshade's supervillain days.

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."
-- Mark Twain

The idea that love makes you crazy is both an entertainment trope and an observation from everyday life.

Really though, love is acceptance.  In this case it started with Fortressa accepting Socket as a smart mechanic, which led to Socket accepting Fortressa's disinterest in sex/romance and still loving her anyway.  Unconditional love is what maintains despite negative circumstances.  It's rare but it does happen.  Understand how to love someone unconditionally.

Love =/= Sex.  Love can be nonromantic and/or nonsexual.  Friendship can be passionate and intimate.  There are many ways to love someone.  What I adore about this relationship is that Socket refuses to give up on Fortressa just because the first attempt to match up doesn't work.  Socket would like  to have a lesbian relationship, but she's homosocial as well as homosexual.  Since Fortressa is also homosocial, they're compatible on that bandwidth and have developed a very close connection.  Most advice on what to do if you love someone, who doesn't love you back the way you want, is about how to abandon the relationship and walk away.  It doesn't have to be that way; you can seek for a different way to match up, and sometimes that works.

Comments

[corvi]

I like this, but it just seems like a straightforward lovesong, I don't know how to read it as "mismatched passion turned platonic."

Well...

[ysabetwordsmith]

It's actually designed to clue in one direction only. If you already know about the relationship between Fortressa and Socket, there should be visible parallels, like the references to castles and not getting inside. But if you don't know them, it's not supposed to reveal that, just sound like a regular love song.

Re: Well...

[corvi]

That makes sense. Without the background, it seems like the song is saying the castle does have a way to get inside, mentioned in the fifth verse: surrender to the occupant.

Re: Well...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Ah, but in siege warfare, if you surrender outside, that doesn't get you into the castle.

Re: Well...

[corvi]

It's certainly not my expertise, but I don't know of any historical examples where a sieging army has surrendered to the besieged fortress. Normally if the siege fails the sieging army gives up and goes elsewhere. Sometimes another army can show up and chase them off or defeat them, but I don't think surrendering to the fortress has been tried. :)

Re: Well...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Usually the besieging army does leave. You may be right that nobody's tried surrendering to the castle. *ponder* Except in cases of double-siege but that's not applicable here.

Re: Well...

[corvi]

Thanks for the thought-provoking poem with the interesting metaphors! :D

Re: Well...

[ysabetwordsmith]

You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[lynnoconnacht]

Ooooooooooooooooooh, pretty. <3

Thank you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm glad you liked it.

I like that it doesn't clue in the /average/ listener

[dialecticdreamer]

It's soup-sensitive, without trying to draw any particular attention TO soups. Definitely the kind of "in joke" that subcultures develop over time.

At its simplest level it's still a lovely song, but each layer adds just a touch more effort from the creator and a touch more investment in the listener digging out multiple meanings.

Re: I like that it doesn't clue in the /average/ listener

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> It's soup-sensitive, without trying to draw any particular attention TO soups. Definitely the kind of "in joke" that subcultures develop over time. <<

I think several of their songs are like that, charming on the surface but with hidden meanings for those in the know.

>> At its simplest level it's still a lovely song, but each layer adds just a touch more effort from the creator and a touch more investment in the listener digging out multiple meanings. <<

Yay! I'm glad it works for you.

[mdlbear]

Works for me. Yeah; multiple levels.

"What I adore about this relationship is that Socket refuses to give up on Fortressa just because the first attempt to match up doesn't work."

Been there.

Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

That's good to hear.

Feel free to sing this one if you wish.

[purplecat]

You can really feel the rhythm of the song here, and the hints about the relationship are there if you pay attention.

Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

That's what I was aiming for. To anyone who reads kennings, some of the 'moves' in development of the relationship are specified, but to most people it is just going to sound like a cute list of metaphors. There are no names on it ... but if you know Fortressa, well, it's easy to guess that it has to do with her. I don't know if anyone has clocked Socket as the other half though.