Poem: "A Lot More Respect for a Bird"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem came out of the November 21, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from bairnsidhe. It also fills the "fish" square in my 7-1-17 card for the Winter Fest in July Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles and Cody. It belongs to the series Feathered Nests, which you can find via my Serial Poetry page.


"A Lot More Respect for a Bird"


Commander Quillon Hale,
Commander Andreas Tyre,
Ensign Julian Obert,
Lieutenant Risa Martina, and
Lieutenant Carilla Rodriga
applied for family quarters.

The captain glared at them
over the paperwork, but
at least he approved it.

The ship wasn't used
to having five people
move all at the same time
and all into the same quarters.

They managed, though, with
a minimum of fuss, except that
Quillon was nowhere to be found
which left Andreas and Carilla
to do most of the heavy lifting.

When Andreas and Julian went
to check Quillon's room, they
discovered all of his belongings
packed neatly into boxes, so they
shrugged and carried them home.

Risa and Carilla bustled about
hanging photos of Fifers and
a few pieces of native art on
the walls of the living room.

Andreas flopped down
on the couch and declared,
"I have a lot more respect
for a bird now that I have
tried making a nest."

The door chimed, then
opened to reveal Quillon.

"Where have you been
all this time?" Carilla snapped,
glaring at their errant husband.

"... getting the fish?" he said
in a baffled tone. "All the alephs
insisted that this was traditional."

Everyone stared at the string of dripping fish.

"We're having Filetes de Pescado for supper!"
Risa crowed. She grabbed the fish from him
and then scampered into the galley.

"Works for me," everyone agreed,
and followed her to offer their help.

* * *

Notes:

"You'll have a lot more respect for a bird after you try making a nest."
-- Cynthia Lewis

Filetes de Pescado is a Mexican dish featuring fish in spicy sauce. It literally means "fillets of fish."

Comments

[antisocialite_forum]

That was fast! :D I didn't know that somebody else had pitched in too.

Food is a good thing to come out of missing the move-in day's work for a confusing new tradition. They sure don't have to worry about dinner. ^^

- Cody

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> That was fast! :D I didn't know that somebody else had pitched in too. <<

That was my fault, I was too fried last night to remember to mark things sold. :/ Sorry. But the overflow will go to the remaining poem in this series when I'm done posting the specifically claimed stuff.

>> Food is a good thing to come out of missing the move-in day's work for a confusing new tradition. They sure don't have to worry about dinner. ^^ <<

Yep. The alephs have certain social responsibilities. One is protection, but when they're courting someone to move into their territory, providing food is another. :D

[technoshaman]

*laughter* Far better than pizza delivery. :)

And then the "you'll have a lot more respect for a bird" reminds me of St. Linus the Torvalds' quip on Linux' mascot (see icon)...

Some people have told me they don't think a fat penguin really embodies the grace of Linux, which just tells me they have never seen a angry penguin charging at them in excess of 100mph. They'd be a lot more careful about what they say if they had.
    -- <cola-liw-834355743-12037-0@liw.clinet.fi>

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> *laughter* Far better than pizza delivery. :) <<

:D Yep.

>> And then the "you'll have a lot more respect for a bird" reminds me of St. Linus the Torvalds' quip on Linux' mascot (see icon)... <<

Evidently they have not noticed that penguins live in an environment which would kill and unprotected human in a couple of minutes, and has killed even protected ones on numerous occasions. They look powerless. They're really not.

Symbolism sustained.

Re: Thoughts

[technoshaman]

When my ex found out about the 100mph Penguin quote, she *demanded* a stuffed Tux as a power symbol. Far as I know she's still got it; we've been living apart nearly 10 years now.

Re: Thoughts

[siliconshaman]

It is fact that leopard seals hunt and kill penguins. It is also a fact that they are successful only one time in about ten. [compare a penguin and leopard seal side by side.]

It is also a fact that one time in maybe a hundred, the penguin injuries or even kills the seal.

[thnidu]

Ah! I'm used to biologies from different planets being incompatible, at least in part. This is much more "at-home-able".

[callibr8]

Kudos to Risa for rising to the occasion! It's exactly that kind of adapt and incorporate on-the-bounce which I specialize in, and which seems to confound most people. Since it's the water I swim in, I just shrug and invite them to join me. Some do, and that's delightful when it happens.

Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm glad this resonated with you. Yes, xenology requires the ability to think outside the box.

Re: Yay!

[callibr8]

I think that my habit of approaching the different (i.e. the "not-like-me") with curiosity rather than fear has long confounded the mundanes around me, and has contributed to my own sense of "otherness", even if my otherness isn't fully Fey (or anything else I can readily identify). One of my mottos has long been, "a stranger is a friend I haven't met yet", and I've been lucky enough in my encounters with most beings, that I still approach most new situations that way.

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

There's actually a word for that, xenophilia.

[anxious_songbird]

Everyone did their part in the end :3 though I hope they communicate more later, as cute as this was.

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Everyone did their part in the end :3

Exactly.

>> though I hope they communicate more later, as cute as this was. <<

They are humans trying out an alien social structure that they believe will work for them. Much communication will be needed, but expect them to trip over unexpected details a lot.

In my experience, as long as people are being honest and willing to work on things, mishaps can be managed.