Poem: "Dynamic Balancing Acts"
Nov. 28th, 2017 05:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem came out of the November 21, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from ng_moonmoth. It also fills the "stars" square in my 10-31-17 Space card for the Space and Time Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by ng_moonmoth. It belongs to the series Feathered Nests, which you can explore via my Serial Poetry page.
"Dynamic Balancing Acts"
In autumn, when everyone else
was eagerly preparing for migration,
Fwil and Srii clung to each other and
wished they didn't have to go.
Even their chick Jeet picked up
on their anxiety and became fretful.
When they saw the humans
preparing for a supply run, though,
that gave Fwil a new idea.
"What if we went with them?"
Fwil asked, turning to Srii.
"Go with whom?" Srii said.
"The humans," Fwil said.
"Ensign Zaveri and Ensign Yom
migrate with their daughter Twee.
Perhaps they would allow us
to come with them this time."
Srii looked at the females
gathering in a tight-knit flock.
"It has to be better than here."
So they asked the humans
about migrating together.
"We'd love to have you --
I'm sure it would be good for
Twee to have Fifer company on
the way -- but it's not our decision,"
said Ensign Zaveri. "That would
be up to Captain Judd."
The captain was not always
sympathetic, but in the end
he agreed to let them come.
It was the strangest migration
that Fwil and Srii had ever been on.
They climbed into the shuttle with
their son Jeet and watched their world
grow small and fall away beneath them.
The stars shone bright and steady
in the black ocean of space, with
the human ship hanging there
like a courting pebble.
It felt strange to migrate
without flying, without effort,
and yet it was so relaxing that
Fwil and Srii couldn't complain.
The chicks were excited
at first but soon lost interest
in the way of young things.
It was, indeed, good for them
to have each other to play with
and learn from on the trip.
Fwil and Srii watched the stars
go past like schools of silver fish.
They looked at each other and knew
that if nothing else, this sight alone
had changed them forever, even if
they never came this way again.
Fwil thought he would want to,
though -- it was like living a legend.
They also got more time to watch
the humans who lived in couples
and try to figure out how they
managed to make it work.
At home, it was hard, but
maybe that was because
nobody else was doing it.
Eventually, Ensign Zaveri and
Ensign Yom came to them
in the stargazing lounge.
Twee and Jeet promptly began
playing some game that they had
invented based on a human toy
consisting of paper squares with
dots for the chicks to peck.
"We hear that you're trying
to figure out a binary relationship,"
Ensign Yom said to Fwil and Srii.
"Yes," said Fwil. "We don't mean
to stare, but there is no one at home
for us to learn from, and you two
seem to get along so well."
Ensign Zaveri laughed. "Oh,
you wouldn't say that if you
ever heard us fighting!"
"You fight?" Srii said,
her feathers bushing up
in surprise. "We thought
we were the only ones,
because we're perverts."
"Srii, everyone fights, it's just
that most people try not to do it
in public," said Ensign Yom. "When
you disagree in private, then it's
easier to patch up later."
Fwil thought about that.
They didn't have much privacy
at home, because he wasn't an aleph
and couldn't hold a territory, so they
kind of lived on the fringes the way
that the beth males usually did.
It wasn't like being in the midst
of a flock where everyone helped
to work out disagreements, either --
they had to do it all on their own.
"We will try arguing in private,"
he said. "Perhaps that will help."
"We know how hard it can be
when your tastes don't agree with
everyone else's," said Ensign Yom.
"We'll support you as best we can."
"People don't like your family
because of Twee?" asked Srii.
"No -- well yes, that too now,"
said Ensign Yom. "Among humans,
it's not usual for two women to be mates.
Most people accept it now, but some don't,
and they can be very rude about that."
They may as well complain about
males and females mating, because
of course females would get together.
How else would the modors ever
get in the mood otherwise?
Fwil didn't say that out loud,
though. Humans were peculiar,
and one had to make allowances.
"You do so well together," he said.
"I hardly ever see you tripping over
each other the way Srii and I do."
He knew how to move in a flock,
or in a three or a five, but with
just the two of them hovering
around the same chick, it was
hard to keep from colliding.
"Have you ever thought about
the stars?" Ensign Zaveri asked.
"What about them?" Fwil said,
looking outside at the glittering dark.
"Stars are like dynamic balancing acts
between two forces, fusion and gravity,"
said Ensign Zaveri. "Too much fusion
and a star explodes; too much gravity
and it collapses under its own weight."
"That's so sad," Twee said, looking up.
"No, it's just the way stars are,"
said Ensign Zaveri. "They need both.
It's much the same in a binary system.
If the stars get too close, they will collide
and burn each other up; too far away, and
they will fly apart to lose each other in space."
"That's not much better," Fwil muttered.
He didn't want to lose the sense of beauty
and serenity that he got from the stars.
"It's the same in a relationship,"
Ensign Zaveri explained. "You have
this give and take, like dancing."
"This relationship is nothing
like dancing," Fwil protested.
Dancing was about displaying
your skills for each other, not
moving together. How could
you pay attention like that?
"Well, ours is a bit different
than yours," Ensign Zaveri said.
"Would you like to see an example?"
"If you don't mind showing off for us,
then I would like to see," said Srii.
Ensign Yom got up and did something
with the computer in the wall, which
gave out a sweet, unfamiliar song.
Then the two women cuddled up
to each other as if they were about
to mate standing up with their clothes on --
and then they danced.
There was no other word for it,
even though it looked nothing like
any dance that Fwil had ever seen.
They held onto each other's bodies
and swayed together and stepped
between each other's feet, and
somehow they moved along at
the same speed as the song.
Even though they were humans,
this was much more erotic than
watching an aleph flirt around
with his beths and even a faeder.
The chicks ignored it, of course,
being only chicks -- but Fwil could
feel his ruff puffing out and Srii's knees
were shaking like she wanted to crouch
even though it was entirely the wrong season.
"Well, that was exciting!" Srii said breathlessly
when the song ended and the women sat down.
"I will never forget the sight of that in all my days."
Neither would Fwil. He could almost, almost
understand what they'd been saying about
stars and relationships and dancing, if
he could quiet his body long enough
to think it through all the way.
But Srii was laughing and
tugging him toward the room
that the humans had given them
to nest in, so it would have to wait.
They left Jeet with Twee and
her mothers. It wasn't quite like
having a flock, but it was close.
A flock wouldn't have shown them
the stars, or that feather-lifting dance.
All in all, Fwil preferred this dynamic balance.
* * *
Notes:
"Stars are like dynamic balancing acts between two forces: fusion and gravity."
-- Evan Gough, "Chance Discovery of a Three Hour Old Supernova," Universe Today, February 14, 2017
Dynamic balance is a secure relationship between objects in motion, which thus differs from static balance. With interpersonal relationships, it allows people to maintain their connection while moving and growing. With yin and yang theory, it expresses the idea of essential opposites in which each completes the other and both contain the seed of their opposite, so that they transition smoothly from one mode to the other.
Chicks of various species like to peck at contrasting spots of color. Playing cards have various designs, often with spots marking the suit and value. Put the two together, and you get alien chicks inventing a game with human playing cards that involves pecking the spots because that feels good to them.
Lesbian dancing is a beautiful variation on traditional male/female ballroom dance. Watch some in action. When close dancing first emerged, people considered it quite scandalous. The Fifers dance, but their display dances are different and farther apart. But now they have the idea of dirty dancing ...
ng_moonmoth. It also fills the "stars" square in my 10-31-17 Space card for the Space and Time Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by ng_moonmoth. It belongs to the series Feathered Nests, which you can explore via my Serial Poetry page."Dynamic Balancing Acts"
In autumn, when everyone else
was eagerly preparing for migration,
Fwil and Srii clung to each other and
wished they didn't have to go.
Even their chick Jeet picked up
on their anxiety and became fretful.
When they saw the humans
preparing for a supply run, though,
that gave Fwil a new idea.
"What if we went with them?"
Fwil asked, turning to Srii.
"Go with whom?" Srii said.
"The humans," Fwil said.
"Ensign Zaveri and Ensign Yom
migrate with their daughter Twee.
Perhaps they would allow us
to come with them this time."
Srii looked at the females
gathering in a tight-knit flock.
"It has to be better than here."
So they asked the humans
about migrating together.
"We'd love to have you --
I'm sure it would be good for
Twee to have Fifer company on
the way -- but it's not our decision,"
said Ensign Zaveri. "That would
be up to Captain Judd."
The captain was not always
sympathetic, but in the end
he agreed to let them come.
It was the strangest migration
that Fwil and Srii had ever been on.
They climbed into the shuttle with
their son Jeet and watched their world
grow small and fall away beneath them.
The stars shone bright and steady
in the black ocean of space, with
the human ship hanging there
like a courting pebble.
It felt strange to migrate
without flying, without effort,
and yet it was so relaxing that
Fwil and Srii couldn't complain.
The chicks were excited
at first but soon lost interest
in the way of young things.
It was, indeed, good for them
to have each other to play with
and learn from on the trip.
Fwil and Srii watched the stars
go past like schools of silver fish.
They looked at each other and knew
that if nothing else, this sight alone
had changed them forever, even if
they never came this way again.
Fwil thought he would want to,
though -- it was like living a legend.
They also got more time to watch
the humans who lived in couples
and try to figure out how they
managed to make it work.
At home, it was hard, but
maybe that was because
nobody else was doing it.
Eventually, Ensign Zaveri and
Ensign Yom came to them
in the stargazing lounge.
Twee and Jeet promptly began
playing some game that they had
invented based on a human toy
consisting of paper squares with
dots for the chicks to peck.
"We hear that you're trying
to figure out a binary relationship,"
Ensign Yom said to Fwil and Srii.
"Yes," said Fwil. "We don't mean
to stare, but there is no one at home
for us to learn from, and you two
seem to get along so well."
Ensign Zaveri laughed. "Oh,
you wouldn't say that if you
ever heard us fighting!"
"You fight?" Srii said,
her feathers bushing up
in surprise. "We thought
we were the only ones,
because we're perverts."
"Srii, everyone fights, it's just
that most people try not to do it
in public," said Ensign Yom. "When
you disagree in private, then it's
easier to patch up later."
Fwil thought about that.
They didn't have much privacy
at home, because he wasn't an aleph
and couldn't hold a territory, so they
kind of lived on the fringes the way
that the beth males usually did.
It wasn't like being in the midst
of a flock where everyone helped
to work out disagreements, either --
they had to do it all on their own.
"We will try arguing in private,"
he said. "Perhaps that will help."
"We know how hard it can be
when your tastes don't agree with
everyone else's," said Ensign Yom.
"We'll support you as best we can."
"People don't like your family
because of Twee?" asked Srii.
"No -- well yes, that too now,"
said Ensign Yom. "Among humans,
it's not usual for two women to be mates.
Most people accept it now, but some don't,
and they can be very rude about that."
They may as well complain about
males and females mating, because
of course females would get together.
How else would the modors ever
get in the mood otherwise?
Fwil didn't say that out loud,
though. Humans were peculiar,
and one had to make allowances.
"You do so well together," he said.
"I hardly ever see you tripping over
each other the way Srii and I do."
He knew how to move in a flock,
or in a three or a five, but with
just the two of them hovering
around the same chick, it was
hard to keep from colliding.
"Have you ever thought about
the stars?" Ensign Zaveri asked.
"What about them?" Fwil said,
looking outside at the glittering dark.
"Stars are like dynamic balancing acts
between two forces, fusion and gravity,"
said Ensign Zaveri. "Too much fusion
and a star explodes; too much gravity
and it collapses under its own weight."
"That's so sad," Twee said, looking up.
"No, it's just the way stars are,"
said Ensign Zaveri. "They need both.
It's much the same in a binary system.
If the stars get too close, they will collide
and burn each other up; too far away, and
they will fly apart to lose each other in space."
"That's not much better," Fwil muttered.
He didn't want to lose the sense of beauty
and serenity that he got from the stars.
"It's the same in a relationship,"
Ensign Zaveri explained. "You have
this give and take, like dancing."
"This relationship is nothing
like dancing," Fwil protested.
Dancing was about displaying
your skills for each other, not
moving together. How could
you pay attention like that?
"Well, ours is a bit different
than yours," Ensign Zaveri said.
"Would you like to see an example?"
"If you don't mind showing off for us,
then I would like to see," said Srii.
Ensign Yom got up and did something
with the computer in the wall, which
gave out a sweet, unfamiliar song.
Then the two women cuddled up
to each other as if they were about
to mate standing up with their clothes on --
and then they danced.
There was no other word for it,
even though it looked nothing like
any dance that Fwil had ever seen.
They held onto each other's bodies
and swayed together and stepped
between each other's feet, and
somehow they moved along at
the same speed as the song.
Even though they were humans,
this was much more erotic than
watching an aleph flirt around
with his beths and even a faeder.
The chicks ignored it, of course,
being only chicks -- but Fwil could
feel his ruff puffing out and Srii's knees
were shaking like she wanted to crouch
even though it was entirely the wrong season.
"Well, that was exciting!" Srii said breathlessly
when the song ended and the women sat down.
"I will never forget the sight of that in all my days."
Neither would Fwil. He could almost, almost
understand what they'd been saying about
stars and relationships and dancing, if
he could quiet his body long enough
to think it through all the way.
But Srii was laughing and
tugging him toward the room
that the humans had given them
to nest in, so it would have to wait.
They left Jeet with Twee and
her mothers. It wasn't quite like
having a flock, but it was close.
A flock wouldn't have shown them
the stars, or that feather-lifting dance.
All in all, Fwil preferred this dynamic balance.
* * *
Notes:
"Stars are like dynamic balancing acts between two forces: fusion and gravity."
-- Evan Gough, "Chance Discovery of a Three Hour Old Supernova," Universe Today, February 14, 2017
Dynamic balance is a secure relationship between objects in motion, which thus differs from static balance. With interpersonal relationships, it allows people to maintain their connection while moving and growing. With yin and yang theory, it expresses the idea of essential opposites in which each completes the other and both contain the seed of their opposite, so that they transition smoothly from one mode to the other.
Chicks of various species like to peck at contrasting spots of color. Playing cards have various designs, often with spots marking the suit and value. Put the two together, and you get alien chicks inventing a game with human playing cards that involves pecking the spots because that feels good to them.
Lesbian dancing is a beautiful variation on traditional male/female ballroom dance. Watch some in action. When close dancing first emerged, people considered it quite scandalous. The Fifers dance, but their display dances are different and farther apart. But now they have the idea of dirty dancing ...
(no subject)
Date: 2017-11-29 01:55 am (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2017-11-29 03:00 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-11-29 02:03 am (UTC)Hmmmm. Maybe it's just me but I think finding out what makes one's beloved(s) *laugh* is a better way to make a long-term partnership than what makes'em want to drag you off behind closed doors... not that that's not *fun*, but the laughter will see you through when the badda-boom don't badda-bing for whatever reason...
(no subject)
Date: 2017-11-29 02:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-11-29 02:55 am (UTC)And congratulations. That's a *long* time to be together... here's to one's 90th! :)
(no subject)
Date: 2017-11-29 12:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-11-29 05:36 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-11-30 08:40 am (UTC)Thoughts
Date: 2017-11-29 03:37 am (UTC)LOL yes, I love that thing.
>> Hmmmm. Maybe it's just me but I think finding out what makes one's beloved(s) *laugh* is a better way to make a long-term partnership than what makes'em want to drag you off behind closed doors...<<
True, but ...
>> not that that's not *fun*, but the laughter will see you through when the badda-boom don't badda-bing for whatever reason...<<
... so will cuddling.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2017-11-29 05:38 pm (UTC)I really liked seeing the humans through alien eyes. Fun!
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2017-11-29 07:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-12-01 12:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-12-01 12:57 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-11-29 03:23 am (UTC)(Which eventually leads to Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo...)
Thoughts
Date: 2017-11-29 07:04 am (UTC)There is historic precedent for same-sex couples in ice dancing.
What I have observed is that each organization or competition is free to set its own rules, and they have not been penalized for extremely homophobic and discriminatory behavior. So there may be variation where some conventional shows allow same-sex couples, but in general, if queer people want to play sports they usually have to make their own separate competitions just like black people used to. >_<
>> Ice dancing requires lifts, and it's usually assumed that only a man can lift and hold a partner (of any gender) in a way that satisfies the rules of ice dancing. <<
The physical requirement is simply that you need one partner strong enough to hoist the other. This is easier if one is bigger and stronger while the other is smaller. However, it's not necessary; I've seen dancers of equal size lift each other. I've seen ice dancers and regular dancers do a female lifting a male. It's just rare, because people have gender prejudices and stastically males tend to get bigger and stronger than females.
>>But my contrarian mind thinks it might be interesting to watch gender-bent ice dancing, analogous to the ballroom dancing you describe.<<
I love genderfuck dancing of any kind.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2017-11-29 12:59 pm (UTC)That's fascinating, about the person who practically invented figure skating, performing with his male protege and dressing in flamboyant costumes that included female clothing. (Of course, male figure skaters, like male ballet dancers and interior decorators, have a reputation for being gay.) There wasn't any distinction then between what we now call "pair skating" (for which the Winter Olympics accepts same-sex pairs) and "ice dancing".
I'd like to see ice dancing with a woman lifting a man, because the whole dynamic of the performance must change :-)
I'm not heavily enthusiastic about dancing or ice skating, but they're pretty to watch. But I like genderfuck in general (my online name is non-gender-specific, and I had a lot of fun in chat rooms when people made incorrect assumptions...)
Thanks again!
stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-06 09:39 am (UTC)- in ice dancing, the entire routine must be performed to the music of a particular dance, and the steps of that well-known dance must be a major feature of the routine, whereas in pairs skating, while the couple must incorporate footwork sequences, they are free to create musical montages and to arrange the flow of their choreography as they see fit
- in ice dancing, the "lifts" may not exceed shoulder height. Thus, one does not see the beautiful overhead star-lift of pairs skating.
I enjoy each of them, in different ways, but to me they really are apples and oranges, or perhaps cherries and lemons, and to be honest, I've always enjoyed pairs skating more, because it has fewer constraints and lends itself better to a combination of athleticism and artistry. YMMV, of course.
For superlative ice dancing, go to YouTube and put in "Torvill and Dean Bolero Sarajevo 1984".
For superlative pairs skating, again YouTube, put in "Gordeeva and Grinkov"
Btw, if you'd be interested in real-time or near-real-time geeking about skating during the upcoming 2018 Olympic Winter Games... by all means, look me up!
Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-07 04:37 am (UTC)(The strongest memory of figure skating I have happens to be Surya Bonaly doing standing back-flips during practice, and the announcer remarking that women were prohibited from using that move.)
Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-07 04:45 am (UTC)Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-07 08:25 am (UTC)Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-07 08:42 am (UTC)Such as this. Listen to the audience reactions: they clearly think someone's about to get creamed. Accidents do happen. But dancing with physics is breathtakingly beautiful. I will pay for that; we've attended several athletic dance performances and I watch for them in the showbook we shop out of.
Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-07 08:55 am (UTC)I'm looking forward to seeing what zero-gee dancing will look like, although, thanks to the Robinsons, I have at least a faint clue :-)
Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-07 09:27 am (UTC)This one is cool in a nerdy way, and not bad for a bunch of groundhogs, but Pilobolus captures the spirit of zero-g dance better.
Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-07 09:48 am (UTC)And I also like OK GO. I was intrigued by their renting the Russian "vomit comet" plane, and learning how to perform. It's a good start :-)
BTW, the astronauts and cosmonauts who spend time aboard the ISS have invented new ways to play. I saw an IMAX documentary about them, and the group was having lunch, which consisted of flour tortillas with various spreads. They were sort of tossing the tortillas amongst themselves like frisbees, and as it spun by each one, he or she would try to take a bite out of it. Hilarity ensued :-)
Human creativity - ya can't beat it!
Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-07 08:18 am (UTC)Ekaterina Gordeeva has evolved into a lovely and expressive singles skater, hearkening back to the days of Peggy Fleming. Probably my all-time favorite women's champion, though, is Katarina Witt. The Olympics where she and Debi Thomas both skated routines to Carmen, were a delight to watch!
Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-07 08:44 am (UTC)Oh - I found a video of that, complete with backflips! Such strength, such style!
Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-07 03:53 pm (UTC)For the epitome of world-class pairs' skating, check out this clip of Gordeeva and Grinkov (ages 19 and 23) from the pairs competition at the 1990 Goodwill Games, and a better one from 1994 in Tokyo; after their second gold medal win but before their third. I want to highlight three things in particular: the overhead lifts and throws, the speed at which they cover the ice (both of those, key differences between ice dancing and pairs skating)... and her hands. Compare her arm (and hand) movements to Bonaly's, and you can really see the difference that the Russian incorporation of ballet training into their ice skaters' regimens, makes. Bonaly has so much strength and power, but her hands just kind of flop around at the ends of her wrists, whereas Gordeeva's movements incorporate line and flow all the way out to her fingertips.
Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-08 12:35 pm (UTC)Gordeeva and Grinkov are flawless performers. She's so tiny, compared to him! That makes possible those astonishing lifts, carries and throws, but it also means they must have to rehearse rigidly to perform the same moves separately but perfectly in synch.
Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-08 04:33 pm (UTC)Yes, Katia *is* tiny, and that does both facilitate some moves and raise the degree of difficulty for others. For a somewhat more size-matched pair, look to Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler from Canada, or USA's own Peter and Kitty Carruthers or Jenni Meno and Todd Sand. I believe that both members of the other pairs are still alive, whereas Katia was widowed in 1995, when Sergei collapsed on the ice during a practice, succumbing to a congential heart defect that nobody knew about. He was 28.
Nevertheless, *she* persists ... and has my utmost admiration for doing so.
Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-09 07:32 am (UTC)Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-09 08:17 am (UTC)You noticed that too, eh? Good on ya!
She confirmed that impression that we both have, in an interview later.
Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-09 08:32 am (UTC)Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-12 11:15 am (UTC)Re: stars on ice
Date: 2017-12-10 11:54 am (UTC)There's a movie that's either about to come out, or has just come out, about ice skating - specifically the feud between Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan. I daresay there's going to be a lot more media attention paid to skating in general for a little while.
celebrity / notoriety
Date: 2017-12-11 07:18 pm (UTC)I'll be very surprised if there's anything good that comes out of that. I suppose it depends on who's making it, but I'm afraid it'll be something sensationalist and counterproductive in a similar vein as "50 Shades of Grey" was for the kink/BDSM community.
If I had a Jayne (Cobb) icon, tagged "You Done That Stitch Wrong", I'd use it for this comment. Ah well, limitations of the medium...
Re: celebrity / notoriety
Date: 2017-12-12 11:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-11-29 04:21 am (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2017-11-29 07:07 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-11-29 03:36 pm (UTC)Also, Fifer chicks pecking playing cards. /Cute./
Thank you!
Date: 2017-11-29 06:55 pm (UTC)Yay!
>> Also, Fifer chicks pecking playing cards. /Cute./ <<
Yeah, that's a photogenic scene. :D Different species have different forms of cuteness. This is one of theirs. Especially to Fifers, because pecking at spots is a quintessentially chick thing the way that crawling is for human infants.