Poem: "A Process, as Life Happens"
Mar. 6th, 2016 02:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem came out of the February 2016 ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by a prompt from curiosity. It also fills the "Wild Card: transformations" square in my 10-1-15 card for the trope_bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Officer Pink thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It follows Part 2 of the story "Daisy Chains" by dialecticdreamer.
"A Process, as Life Happens"
The sudden growl of a motor
wakes Turq from his sleep,
loud and penetrating
to the caney's ears.
He lifts his head from
the wool blanket that makes
a nest under one bench of
the gazebo, and watches as
the car pulls out of the garage.
It peels away at a brisk speed,
hinting to Turq of some emergency.
With a sigh, he lowers his head,
realizing that it may be some time
before Pink returns home.
Turq dozes, but he doesn't
fall into a deep sleep, ears
alert for the sound of the car.
It doesn't come, and doesn't come.
The changing play of light in the sky
tells Turq that time is passing, and
morning is not so far away.
Anxiety nips at him like a flea,
first in one place, then in another,
then crawling up and down his spine
until it becomes impossible to ignore.
Turq creeps out of his cozy bed
and twists around to bite along
the line of his back, chasing fleas
that aren't really there, and
then shakes himself off.
He listens, he scents the wind,
but there is no sign of Pink.
Turq feels lost without him.
He knows that the best way
to find Pink is the Watching Place.
That is where Pink usually goes
when there is trouble. It is not
close, but not far either.
The deer will be better for this
than the caney, with longer legs
and greater speed over distance.
Turq is learning that transformation
is not as simple as changing clothes,
nor necessarily as terrifying as what
happened to him in the lab. It is more of
a process, as life happens, naturally and
gracefully if he can hold his focus on that.
Blue fur ripples into teal, and
smaller caney becomes larger deer.
Huge ears swivel to catch the wind.
Some of the low noises aren't as
noticeable now, but soft sounds
are far easier for him to find.
The air tastes different too,
and he curls his lip to pull in
the scent and hold it against
the roof of his mouth.
Turq can feel the direction,
even without the sun to show him.
He sets off at a trot,
soon speeding to a gallop.
The few cars on the road
are traveling slower than
they do in daylight, and Turq
outpaces most of them.
When he finally comes to
the Watching Place, he shifts
back into caney form, because
the deer really does not like people.
Turq sniffs around the parking lot.
In this shape he is better at tracking
with his nose to the ground, and
before long he finds the car
that belongs to Pink.
The trail leads into the building
and does not come back out.
Turq does not trust buildings,
no matter what form he is in.
Even though the memories are
not as sharp-toothed now as they
are in human form, it is enough
to make him shy away.
The sound of splashing water
leads him to the fountains nearby,
and he drinks with long, sloppy slurps.
He is thirsty after all that running.
Turq looks at the color of
the sky and the colored lights
around the Watching Place.
It is not morning yet, but
morning is coming.
He crosses the pavement
to the little cluster of trees
where the humans have built
things to climb upon.
It is a good place to wait.
He can stay here until
Pink comes back out.
Turq cannot recall
exactly when Pink became
so important to him, a change
as strange and profound as
his own shapeshifting.
It is simply a process,
as life happens, flowing
inexorably from the time
that they spend together.
Turq curls up under a bush,
lays his chin comfortably on his paws,
and settles down to wait.
* * *
Notes:
"Transformation is a process, and as life happens there are tons of ups and downs. It's a journey of discovery -- there are moments on mountaintops and moments in deep valleys of despair."
-- Rick Warren
Hearing ranges vary radically across species. Humans hear approximately 64 to 23,000 Hz. Dogs hear about 67 to 45,000 Hz. White-tailed deer hear about 115 to 54,000 Hz. The size, shape, and mobility of their ears is what gives deer an advantage in detecting sounds.
Scent plays a stronger role for many animals than it does for most humans. Deer, dogs, and wolves all have a keen sense of smell. Deer also have a vomeronasal organ which enhances their ability. The lip-curling gesture is called a flehmen, used for intent study of an interesting odor. While it happens most often with regard to mating scents, any fascinating odor can trigger it. Soups with Pheromone Powers often have a vomeronasal organ as part of their enhanced ability to read scents, and in fact, some humans -- even in our world -- just plain have Super-Scenting which they use in their dayjobs.
Magnetic sense appears in foxes, deer, and various other animals to help them navigate.
Animals have different top speeds and gaits. White-tailed deer tend to gallop and can reach speeds up to 40 mph, faster than the 30-35 mph typical of urban speed limits for traffic.
crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by a prompt from curiosity. It also fills the "Wild Card: transformations" square in my 10-1-15 card for the trope_bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Officer Pink thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It follows Part 2 of the story "Daisy Chains" by dialecticdreamer."A Process, as Life Happens"
The sudden growl of a motor
wakes Turq from his sleep,
loud and penetrating
to the caney's ears.
He lifts his head from
the wool blanket that makes
a nest under one bench of
the gazebo, and watches as
the car pulls out of the garage.
It peels away at a brisk speed,
hinting to Turq of some emergency.
With a sigh, he lowers his head,
realizing that it may be some time
before Pink returns home.
Turq dozes, but he doesn't
fall into a deep sleep, ears
alert for the sound of the car.
It doesn't come, and doesn't come.
The changing play of light in the sky
tells Turq that time is passing, and
morning is not so far away.
Anxiety nips at him like a flea,
first in one place, then in another,
then crawling up and down his spine
until it becomes impossible to ignore.
Turq creeps out of his cozy bed
and twists around to bite along
the line of his back, chasing fleas
that aren't really there, and
then shakes himself off.
He listens, he scents the wind,
but there is no sign of Pink.
Turq feels lost without him.
He knows that the best way
to find Pink is the Watching Place.
That is where Pink usually goes
when there is trouble. It is not
close, but not far either.
The deer will be better for this
than the caney, with longer legs
and greater speed over distance.
Turq is learning that transformation
is not as simple as changing clothes,
nor necessarily as terrifying as what
happened to him in the lab. It is more of
a process, as life happens, naturally and
gracefully if he can hold his focus on that.
Blue fur ripples into teal, and
smaller caney becomes larger deer.
Huge ears swivel to catch the wind.
Some of the low noises aren't as
noticeable now, but soft sounds
are far easier for him to find.
The air tastes different too,
and he curls his lip to pull in
the scent and hold it against
the roof of his mouth.
Turq can feel the direction,
even without the sun to show him.
He sets off at a trot,
soon speeding to a gallop.
The few cars on the road
are traveling slower than
they do in daylight, and Turq
outpaces most of them.
When he finally comes to
the Watching Place, he shifts
back into caney form, because
the deer really does not like people.
Turq sniffs around the parking lot.
In this shape he is better at tracking
with his nose to the ground, and
before long he finds the car
that belongs to Pink.
The trail leads into the building
and does not come back out.
Turq does not trust buildings,
no matter what form he is in.
Even though the memories are
not as sharp-toothed now as they
are in human form, it is enough
to make him shy away.
The sound of splashing water
leads him to the fountains nearby,
and he drinks with long, sloppy slurps.
He is thirsty after all that running.
Turq looks at the color of
the sky and the colored lights
around the Watching Place.
It is not morning yet, but
morning is coming.
He crosses the pavement
to the little cluster of trees
where the humans have built
things to climb upon.
It is a good place to wait.
He can stay here until
Pink comes back out.
Turq cannot recall
exactly when Pink became
so important to him, a change
as strange and profound as
his own shapeshifting.
It is simply a process,
as life happens, flowing
inexorably from the time
that they spend together.
Turq curls up under a bush,
lays his chin comfortably on his paws,
and settles down to wait.
* * *
Notes:
"Transformation is a process, and as life happens there are tons of ups and downs. It's a journey of discovery -- there are moments on mountaintops and moments in deep valleys of despair."
-- Rick Warren
Hearing ranges vary radically across species. Humans hear approximately 64 to 23,000 Hz. Dogs hear about 67 to 45,000 Hz. White-tailed deer hear about 115 to 54,000 Hz. The size, shape, and mobility of their ears is what gives deer an advantage in detecting sounds.
Scent plays a stronger role for many animals than it does for most humans. Deer, dogs, and wolves all have a keen sense of smell. Deer also have a vomeronasal organ which enhances their ability. The lip-curling gesture is called a flehmen, used for intent study of an interesting odor. While it happens most often with regard to mating scents, any fascinating odor can trigger it. Soups with Pheromone Powers often have a vomeronasal organ as part of their enhanced ability to read scents, and in fact, some humans -- even in our world -- just plain have Super-Scenting which they use in their dayjobs.
Magnetic sense appears in foxes, deer, and various other animals to help them navigate.
Animals have different top speeds and gaits. White-tailed deer tend to gallop and can reach speeds up to 40 mph, faster than the 30-35 mph typical of urban speed limits for traffic.
Happy sigh
Date: 2016-03-06 09:44 pm (UTC)Re: Happy sigh
Date: 2016-03-06 09:55 pm (UTC)Yay! :D
>> Sometimes the news isn't good, but the comfort and company offset that enough to make this feel like real, solid progress for Turq. <<
For someone who's been tortured for years, Turq is progressing awesomely fast. It's an example of how one good, solid attachment can lay a foundation of resilience. What the torture did was flatten or scramble Turq's personality and ability to cope with things. He has a lot of triggers and other issues that he didn't before. But as soon as he came into contact with decent people and a healthier environment, he started to recover.
Chasing after Ansel is actually a good sign. It's not fun to worry about someone, but that shows a strong attachment developing, and Turq really needs that in order to heal.
This is the first of the three Officer Pink poems that have been sponsored, so the others should appear later today or tomorrow. They show further development in the relationship between Ansel and Turq.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-06 10:50 pm (UTC)btw, does Ansel have a sister [or fan-girl]
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-07 01:38 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-07 02:18 am (UTC)Well...
Date: 2016-03-07 03:29 am (UTC)So Turq would hear Ansel telling a story, which is relaxing. He'd probably recognize himself in it. If he thinks back on it later, in human form, he might realize that Ansel is not only integrating Turq into his own everyday life but also using him as an example of soup acceptance. This isn't something I've written yet, but if folks are interested in Turq's continued responses, I can go there.
Re: Well...
Date: 2016-03-07 07:42 am (UTC)Well...
Date: 2016-03-07 03:16 am (UTC)Pretty much everything that happens in the playground. Turq is tucked under one of the bushes, where he can see and hear, but not readily be noticed. (Ansel notices him anyhow, but doesn't call attention to it.)
>> and if that triggers any healthy memories from before the torture. <<
It might, although I haven't written about that yet -- the next piece picks up with Ansel's perspective. I do know that Turq's memories are slowly shaking loose, particularly the ones about his favorite foster family.
Re: Well...
Date: 2016-03-07 11:23 am (UTC):-)
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-07 04:10 pm (UTC)I like how Turq - particularly in his caney form - deals with emotions as physical stimuli. That both reads very real, and makes me think that Pink's habit of scratching and touching him in caney form is better than he knows.
Thoughts
Date: 2016-03-07 07:35 pm (UTC)Even ordinary deer are faster than most people realize, and superpowers tend to produce even better results. I have seen white-tailed deer outrun cars.
>> I like how Turq - particularly in his caney form - deals with emotions as physical stimuli. <<
Yay! A key reason why he favors nonhuman shapes is because that helps him stay in the here-and-now, rather than worry about the past or the future. Part of the point is precisely that everything becomes more physical and less mental.
>> That both reads very real, <<
I'm glad it works for you.
>>and makes me think that Pink's habit of scratching and touching him in caney form is better than he knows.<<
It really is. It's better than antidepressants. Turq is very touch-sensitive, especially in caney form. The more he knows and trusts someone, the faster he can relax and the deeper he can go. But even at casual levels the effect is pretty strong. It's something you'll see them exploring more over time.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2016-03-07 08:49 pm (UTC)I'm looking forward to seeing them explore this more!
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2016-03-07 08:54 pm (UTC)That's usually true. They only go to top speed if it's urgent. Turq's cruising speed is high across several forms, actually -- he's a leggy guy -- and when he really wants to move, he moves.
>> (Also, they stot, which is alternately hilarious and really impressive.) <<
Mule deer, then? White-tails are more prone to galloping, with occasional spates of bounding.
>>I'm looking forward to seeing them explore this more!<<
There's one more poem in the set to post today. I've also written another in response to audience questions.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2016-03-07 09:30 pm (UTC)That's them. It's pretty awesome seeing one bound over a six-foot "deer fence" from a standstill.
>>There's one more poem in the set to post today. I've also written another in response to audience questions.<<
Oh, hooray! That's exciting to hear.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2016-03-07 09:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-04-11 03:22 am (UTC)Feels.
Yay!
Date: 2016-04-11 05:36 am (UTC)