Poem: "His Family's His Crew"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem is from the November 6, 2018 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from chanter_greenie. It also fills the "walk" square in my 5-11-18 card for the Family Ties Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Soupshue. It belongs to the Blueshift Troupers project.


"His Family's His Crew"


Lane walks through the dim halls
of the Omphalos, the ship
drowsy with nightshift,
the crew sleeping.

Helm has the watch,
the part of the ship who
handles navigation, ready
to wake everyone in case
of some emergency.

They're a good ship
and a good crew.

Lane trails his hand
along the wall as he walks,
though none of the crew doors
will open under his touch,
each keyed to its owner.

Jess is their biotechnologist
and his second-in-command,
always there to support him.

Emersan is a fighter, her hands
and her mind swift to respond.

Their medic, Zasha, is married
to the engineer Taylor, and it
doesn't always matter what sex
they are when they come out
the chrysalis each time.

They always love each other,
whether or not it's physical.

Avory is a scholar and also
their chaplain, without whom
Lane would feel totally lost.

Reilly is an entertainer and also
an empath, giving them a glimpse
of people's hidden agendas.

The last is Chameleon, who
didn't go through the academy
with the rest of them, but fell
into their company by chance.

Now their best scout, Chameleon
is always changing, yet ever himself.

Lane smiles, rounding the bend
so that he can see his own quarters
coming into view ahead of him.

It's been a while since he has
seen any of his relatives, and
sometimes that makes him
feel a little wistful inside,

but Lane understands
that his family's his crew.

* * *

Notes:

From the savage men to the government hounds
Try to take what's yours and tear you through
But them that run with me's got my back
It's a fool don't know that his family's his crew
-- "Mal's Song" about Firefly, by Vixy and Tony (video)

Family of choice appears both in everyday life and in entertainment. Learn how to make your own.

Comments

[siliconshaman]

Always liked that line.. and that song...

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Me too. They give good music.

[chanter1944]

I had the warm fuzzies on first reading this, backchannel, because reasons. Reasons of which you are already aware, I think. Then you referenced Mal's song, which I didn't recognize at first, and I got the warm fuzzies again! :)

Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm glad this resonated with you. It's a sweeter setting than most SF these days, which is what I love about it. And there is a layer that reflects Firefly too -- that structure of inner and outer worlds.