Poem: "We Get Along Best"
Oct. 24th, 2021 07:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the October 5, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from ng_moonmoth and Shirley Barrette. It also fills the "Sometimes we get along best with the people we're most different from." square in my 10-1-21 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Officer Pink thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It follows "We Are What We Are," so read that first or this won't make much sense.
"We Get Along Best"
[Evening of Friday, August 28, 2015]
After work, Ansel and René met up
at the bike racks. Ansel had biked
to work because it was beautiful day,
and René always did, so they were set.
"Where do you want to go?" Ansel said.
"We have plenty of daylight, so that
gives us all kinds of options here."
Bluehill had a great network of
bike lanes and mixed-use paths,
so you could get almost anywhere.
Cambridge Commons was the best,
because that had Diamond status as
a bike-friendly community. Other parts
of the city had variable infrastructure,
but all shared the social supports.
"I thought we could loop around
Mill Creek Park, come up by
the big monument circle, and
stop at Jack & the Beanstalk
for coffee," said René. "Or if
it's too late in the day for coffee,
Italian sodas or whatever."
"Sure, that works for me,"
Ansel said. "You lead."
René led the way down
Concord Boulevard, between
the YMCA and the senior center,
into the low hills of Mill Creek Park.
At the end of summer, the grass
was green turning toward gold,
and clouds of butterflies flew up
from the stands of goldenrod.
The creek itself twinkled
and danced in the sun.
Some of the paths were
just packed dirt, but where
the ground turned marshy,
boardwalks wound through
the middle of the park.
Ansel enjoyed riding with
René, and wondered if
Turq might like to try
biking rather than just
running alongside.
When they passed
the apartment complex,
they turned north, going
between that and a row
of townhouses which held
mostly hospital employees.
René led them just past
the big monument circle
to Jack & the Beanstalk,
where they locked their bikes
on the bicycle rack outside.
Ansel sent Janie a message
to let her know that they had
reached the coffee shop safely.
Inside, René and Ansel went
to the counter and ordered.
René got a cashew milk latte in
an orange Jack & the Beanstalk mug
and a muffin made with walnuts,
bananas, and white beans.
Ansel got a mocha latte in
a blue Jack & the Beanstalk mug
with a black bean brownie muffin.
The fun thing about going to
this coffee shop was that they
always had some snacks
made with different beans.
You never knew whether they
would be delicious or horrible,
but it was interesting to find out.
Today they got lucky, and both
of the muffins tasted great.
"You want to try some of
my brownie?" Ansel offered.
"Sure," René said, tearing off
a bit of his banana one in trade.
Ansel liked the banana-nut flavor
as much as the chocolate, and
made a note of both names
so he could get them again.
"So, you want to go a few rounds
with first-date questions, just
to try it out?" René offered.
"That's a good idea," Ansel said.
"Sweet tooth or savory tooth?"
"Savory," said René. "I crave
fat because I can't keep it on."
"Sweet for me," said Ansel.
"I found out that crayon soups
tend to need more calories."
"I did not know that," René said.
"Gosh, I should look it up for biking,
in case we get any crayon cyclists."
He took a sip from his latte. "Where’s
the coolest place you’ve ever been?"
"The Grand Hand Cannon Museum
out in Providence, Rhode Island,"
Ansel said. "They actually have
a Gun Totem in the yard out front."
"Oh wow, that does sound fun,"
said René. "Do you have pictures?"
"Yeah, I keep a sharing album that I
can show on my phone," said Ansel.
He scrolled through his favorite images
of historic firearms, then zap guns that
had melted down so they weren't
much use for zetetic study.
"What about you?" Ansel said.
"Where's your coolest place?"
"Going-to-the-Sun Road in
Glacier National Park, Montana,"
said René. "I biked the whole way,
and I was totally beat by the end --
I rode about fifty miles that day --
but it was so totally worth it."
He shared pictures, too,
of a winding lane through
steep green-and-gray peaks.
Ansel thought of the pink sky
in the early pictures. "Are you
a morning or a night person?"
"Oh, morning, nothing beats
a sunrise ride," said René.
Ansel groaned. "Not another one,"
he said. "So's Janie. Me, I've got
sleep inertia, so I have to be
a night person. It's okay, though."
"My sympathies," said René. "Do you
have any first date horror stories?"
"Junior year of high school,"
Ansel said. "When I told
my date I'm a party monitor,
she dumped her soda in
my lap and then left."
"In your lap?" René said.
"Dude, that is harsh."
"Yeah, but at least then
I knew how mean she
really was -- it didn't show
at school," Ansel said.
"True," said René. "Once
my date and I got caught in
an epic rainstorm that ended
with riding a friend's canoe
down the street. I couldn't
blame him for not calling back."
"Not everyone's a tough grubber,"
Ansel agreed, although he himself
loved running wet obstacle courses.
"How close are you to your family?"
René smiled. "Close," he said. "I'm
lucky how tolerant they are. I know
you're close with yours, too, because
Conrad helps us with veterans a lot
and talks about you all the time."
"He has been a huge help
with Turq and the centaurs,"
Ansel said. "My parents are
kinda goofy, but I love them too.
Janie and Turq are part of my family,
even though that's not official yet."
"What should I know about you
that I’d never think to ask about?"
René asked with a mischievous look.
"I like supervillains," Ansel said.
"Not just Turq, though he started it.
"I met a security guy, Boris the Brawn,
at a teamwork event and liked him too.
I don't know what it is, some of them
just seem like fascinating people."
"Wow. I definitely can't top that,"
René said. "I just have low tolerance
for alcohol -- like if someone spikes
the punch, I need a ride home, low."
"I'll help you out any time, just give
the word," Ansel said seriously.
"Thanks," said René. "So, has
this given you any more clarity?"
Ansel thought about that. "Yeah,
I think so. It feels about the same
as a girl date. I'm having fun. I
don't know what that means for
my sexual orientation, though."
"For now, questioning or bi-curious
might work for you," said René.
"You may also consider things like
heteroflexible or heteroinclusive.
After all, you already know that you
like women; you're trying to figure out
if you like anything else beyond that."
"Okay, that makes sense," Ansel said.
"I do like women, I might just decide
to include more options than them."
"When exploring your orientation,
it often helps to start from a point
of confidence, if you have one,"
said René. "Branch out from there."
"Like backpacking from a base camp,
yeah, I can do that," Ansel agreed.
René laughed. "Base camps make
so many more adventures possible,"
he said. "Consider that many things
can be done both with women and
with men. If you're curious about
gay sex, that may open up ideas
for you and Janie to try together."
"That sounds hot," Ansel said,
noting it. He'd seen websites.
"See, you're exploring rationally,"
said René. "You're doing fine."
"You don't think it's weird that I like
supervillains or I'm trying to learn if
I like guys while I have a girlfriend?"
Ansel said. "It's a little weird to me."
"Sometimes we get along best with
the people we're most different from,"
René observed. "You're flexible,
you'll get the hang of it eventually."
Ansel gave a rueful chuckle. "I wish
I'd been closer to you back when
Turq and I first met, because we
drove each other nuts for a while
before we worked it out. Hearing
that then sure would have helped."
"You worked it out, though," said René.
"Me, I had a night owl boyfriend for about
a month, and we drove each other nuts
before we mutually agreed to break up."
"Janie just learned not to try talking to me
until I've had a cup of coffee," Ansel said.
"That works out just fine for the two of us."
"What a wonderful idea," said René.
"I admit I'm curious why you two
haven't gotten married already,
since you seem so attached."
"Oh, that," said Ansel. "Janie has
long-term birth control. There's
a chance that it can interfere with
mate selection -- some people go
off birth control to have a baby, and
suddenly realize they're not well suited.
So we're just waiting for hers to wear off
before making a permanent commitment."
"That's mature of you," René said.
"I'm not sure I could be that patient,
though some things are worth the wait.
Good company certainly counts."
"So ... do you want to get together
again some time?" Ansel asked.
"I think we could be closer friends
than we have been, and I would
like the chance to explore that."
"I'd like that," René said. "I've
had fun, and I would enjoy
getting to know you better.
What did you have in mind?"
"Well, are you still looking for
a biking partner?" Ansel asked.
"Oh Lord yes," René said. "It's
hard to find anyone who can keep up
with me. Wait, are you offering?"
"I am," Ansel said. "I often had
the same problem before Turq
started running alongside me.
The caney has long legs."
"Now that I would like to see,"
René said. "When I was a boy,
my best friend's mother raised
Great Danes, so we used to race
them on our bikes. After his parents
divorced, though, no more dogs."
Ansel chuckled. "So that's where
you got the speed and stamina.
I always wondered about that."
"Yeah, the commercial isn't
kidding about 'I'm gonna die'
levels of exercise," René said.
"If you really want to pull out
all the stops, we can try talking
Turq into the teal deer," said Ansel.
"That form can burn the wind."
"As long as Turq is willing, I
would love to try that," René said,
then finished the last of his muffin.
Ansel emptied his coffee cup. They'd
gotten reusable art cups which they
could refill later at the cheap rate.
Setting the cup down, Ansel
fidgeted. He wasn't quite sure
what to do next in this situation.
"Kiss goodnight?" René asked.
"Yeah, okay," Ansel said, going
a little breathless. "Worth a try."
René kissed him on the lips,
warm and soft, just long enough
to register it before pulling back.
"Well, what do you think?"
said René. "Kissing is typically
a good gauge for orientation."
Ansel considered. It hadn't
felt much different from kissing
a woman: nice, but not particularly
exciting when it was just a friend.
He didn't feel a compulsion
to dump Janie and run off
in search of a hot man.
"No big fireworks, but I
think that I kinda liked it,"
Ansel said. "That's enough
to tell me that I really did
make a mistake in turning
you down flat earlier. I'm
still sorry about that."
"Forgiven," said René.
"You're the only guy who
ever apologized for that."
"Friends, then?" Ansel said
as he held out his hand."
"Friends," René said firmly,
and they shook on it.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its notes appear separately.
ng_moonmoth and Shirley Barrette. It also fills the "Sometimes we get along best with the people we're most different from." square in my 10-1-21 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Officer Pink thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It follows "We Are What We Are," so read that first or this won't make much sense."We Get Along Best"
[Evening of Friday, August 28, 2015]
After work, Ansel and René met up
at the bike racks. Ansel had biked
to work because it was beautiful day,
and René always did, so they were set.
"Where do you want to go?" Ansel said.
"We have plenty of daylight, so that
gives us all kinds of options here."
Bluehill had a great network of
bike lanes and mixed-use paths,
so you could get almost anywhere.
Cambridge Commons was the best,
because that had Diamond status as
a bike-friendly community. Other parts
of the city had variable infrastructure,
but all shared the social supports.
"I thought we could loop around
Mill Creek Park, come up by
the big monument circle, and
stop at Jack & the Beanstalk
for coffee," said René. "Or if
it's too late in the day for coffee,
Italian sodas or whatever."
"Sure, that works for me,"
Ansel said. "You lead."
René led the way down
Concord Boulevard, between
the YMCA and the senior center,
into the low hills of Mill Creek Park.
At the end of summer, the grass
was green turning toward gold,
and clouds of butterflies flew up
from the stands of goldenrod.
The creek itself twinkled
and danced in the sun.
Some of the paths were
just packed dirt, but where
the ground turned marshy,
boardwalks wound through
the middle of the park.
Ansel enjoyed riding with
René, and wondered if
Turq might like to try
biking rather than just
running alongside.
When they passed
the apartment complex,
they turned north, going
between that and a row
of townhouses which held
mostly hospital employees.
René led them just past
the big monument circle
to Jack & the Beanstalk,
where they locked their bikes
on the bicycle rack outside.
Ansel sent Janie a message
to let her know that they had
reached the coffee shop safely.
Inside, René and Ansel went
to the counter and ordered.
René got a cashew milk latte in
an orange Jack & the Beanstalk mug
and a muffin made with walnuts,
bananas, and white beans.
Ansel got a mocha latte in
a blue Jack & the Beanstalk mug
with a black bean brownie muffin.
The fun thing about going to
this coffee shop was that they
always had some snacks
made with different beans.
You never knew whether they
would be delicious or horrible,
but it was interesting to find out.
Today they got lucky, and both
of the muffins tasted great.
"You want to try some of
my brownie?" Ansel offered.
"Sure," René said, tearing off
a bit of his banana one in trade.
Ansel liked the banana-nut flavor
as much as the chocolate, and
made a note of both names
so he could get them again.
"So, you want to go a few rounds
with first-date questions, just
to try it out?" René offered.
"That's a good idea," Ansel said.
"Sweet tooth or savory tooth?"
"Savory," said René. "I crave
fat because I can't keep it on."
"Sweet for me," said Ansel.
"I found out that crayon soups
tend to need more calories."
"I did not know that," René said.
"Gosh, I should look it up for biking,
in case we get any crayon cyclists."
He took a sip from his latte. "Where’s
the coolest place you’ve ever been?"
"The Grand Hand Cannon Museum
out in Providence, Rhode Island,"
Ansel said. "They actually have
a Gun Totem in the yard out front."
"Oh wow, that does sound fun,"
said René. "Do you have pictures?"
"Yeah, I keep a sharing album that I
can show on my phone," said Ansel.
He scrolled through his favorite images
of historic firearms, then zap guns that
had melted down so they weren't
much use for zetetic study.
"What about you?" Ansel said.
"Where's your coolest place?"
"Going-to-the-Sun Road in
Glacier National Park, Montana,"
said René. "I biked the whole way,
and I was totally beat by the end --
I rode about fifty miles that day --
but it was so totally worth it."
He shared pictures, too,
of a winding lane through
steep green-and-gray peaks.
Ansel thought of the pink sky
in the early pictures. "Are you
a morning or a night person?"
"Oh, morning, nothing beats
a sunrise ride," said René.
Ansel groaned. "Not another one,"
he said. "So's Janie. Me, I've got
sleep inertia, so I have to be
a night person. It's okay, though."
"My sympathies," said René. "Do you
have any first date horror stories?"
"Junior year of high school,"
Ansel said. "When I told
my date I'm a party monitor,
she dumped her soda in
my lap and then left."
"In your lap?" René said.
"Dude, that is harsh."
"Yeah, but at least then
I knew how mean she
really was -- it didn't show
at school," Ansel said.
"True," said René. "Once
my date and I got caught in
an epic rainstorm that ended
with riding a friend's canoe
down the street. I couldn't
blame him for not calling back."
"Not everyone's a tough grubber,"
Ansel agreed, although he himself
loved running wet obstacle courses.
"How close are you to your family?"
René smiled. "Close," he said. "I'm
lucky how tolerant they are. I know
you're close with yours, too, because
Conrad helps us with veterans a lot
and talks about you all the time."
"He has been a huge help
with Turq and the centaurs,"
Ansel said. "My parents are
kinda goofy, but I love them too.
Janie and Turq are part of my family,
even though that's not official yet."
"What should I know about you
that I’d never think to ask about?"
René asked with a mischievous look.
"I like supervillains," Ansel said.
"Not just Turq, though he started it.
"I met a security guy, Boris the Brawn,
at a teamwork event and liked him too.
I don't know what it is, some of them
just seem like fascinating people."
"Wow. I definitely can't top that,"
René said. "I just have low tolerance
for alcohol -- like if someone spikes
the punch, I need a ride home, low."
"I'll help you out any time, just give
the word," Ansel said seriously.
"Thanks," said René. "So, has
this given you any more clarity?"
Ansel thought about that. "Yeah,
I think so. It feels about the same
as a girl date. I'm having fun. I
don't know what that means for
my sexual orientation, though."
"For now, questioning or bi-curious
might work for you," said René.
"You may also consider things like
heteroflexible or heteroinclusive.
After all, you already know that you
like women; you're trying to figure out
if you like anything else beyond that."
"Okay, that makes sense," Ansel said.
"I do like women, I might just decide
to include more options than them."
"When exploring your orientation,
it often helps to start from a point
of confidence, if you have one,"
said René. "Branch out from there."
"Like backpacking from a base camp,
yeah, I can do that," Ansel agreed.
René laughed. "Base camps make
so many more adventures possible,"
he said. "Consider that many things
can be done both with women and
with men. If you're curious about
gay sex, that may open up ideas
for you and Janie to try together."
"That sounds hot," Ansel said,
noting it. He'd seen websites.
"See, you're exploring rationally,"
said René. "You're doing fine."
"You don't think it's weird that I like
supervillains or I'm trying to learn if
I like guys while I have a girlfriend?"
Ansel said. "It's a little weird to me."
"Sometimes we get along best with
the people we're most different from,"
René observed. "You're flexible,
you'll get the hang of it eventually."
Ansel gave a rueful chuckle. "I wish
I'd been closer to you back when
Turq and I first met, because we
drove each other nuts for a while
before we worked it out. Hearing
that then sure would have helped."
"You worked it out, though," said René.
"Me, I had a night owl boyfriend for about
a month, and we drove each other nuts
before we mutually agreed to break up."
"Janie just learned not to try talking to me
until I've had a cup of coffee," Ansel said.
"That works out just fine for the two of us."
"What a wonderful idea," said René.
"I admit I'm curious why you two
haven't gotten married already,
since you seem so attached."
"Oh, that," said Ansel. "Janie has
long-term birth control. There's
a chance that it can interfere with
mate selection -- some people go
off birth control to have a baby, and
suddenly realize they're not well suited.
So we're just waiting for hers to wear off
before making a permanent commitment."
"That's mature of you," René said.
"I'm not sure I could be that patient,
though some things are worth the wait.
Good company certainly counts."
"So ... do you want to get together
again some time?" Ansel asked.
"I think we could be closer friends
than we have been, and I would
like the chance to explore that."
"I'd like that," René said. "I've
had fun, and I would enjoy
getting to know you better.
What did you have in mind?"
"Well, are you still looking for
a biking partner?" Ansel asked.
"Oh Lord yes," René said. "It's
hard to find anyone who can keep up
with me. Wait, are you offering?"
"I am," Ansel said. "I often had
the same problem before Turq
started running alongside me.
The caney has long legs."
"Now that I would like to see,"
René said. "When I was a boy,
my best friend's mother raised
Great Danes, so we used to race
them on our bikes. After his parents
divorced, though, no more dogs."
Ansel chuckled. "So that's where
you got the speed and stamina.
I always wondered about that."
"Yeah, the commercial isn't
kidding about 'I'm gonna die'
levels of exercise," René said.
"If you really want to pull out
all the stops, we can try talking
Turq into the teal deer," said Ansel.
"That form can burn the wind."
"As long as Turq is willing, I
would love to try that," René said,
then finished the last of his muffin.
Ansel emptied his coffee cup. They'd
gotten reusable art cups which they
could refill later at the cheap rate.
Setting the cup down, Ansel
fidgeted. He wasn't quite sure
what to do next in this situation.
"Kiss goodnight?" René asked.
"Yeah, okay," Ansel said, going
a little breathless. "Worth a try."
René kissed him on the lips,
warm and soft, just long enough
to register it before pulling back.
"Well, what do you think?"
said René. "Kissing is typically
a good gauge for orientation."
Ansel considered. It hadn't
felt much different from kissing
a woman: nice, but not particularly
exciting when it was just a friend.
He didn't feel a compulsion
to dump Janie and run off
in search of a hot man.
"No big fireworks, but I
think that I kinda liked it,"
Ansel said. "That's enough
to tell me that I really did
make a mistake in turning
you down flat earlier. I'm
still sorry about that."
"Forgiven," said René.
"You're the only guy who
ever apologized for that."
"Friends, then?" Ansel said
as he held out his hand."
"Friends," René said firmly,
and they shook on it.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its notes appear separately.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2021-10-26 08:18 am (UTC)I don't know, but it seems likely. It does tamper with mate selection, in that preferences on hormonal birth control and off it tend to differ. So whichever direction, it might make people less happy with their choice of mate.
>> If so that stuff should come with a warning on the label... <<
I think so too. Our definitions of safety and appropriate warnings are very different from the mainstream's. But then, the mainstream thinks it's okay to approve birth control that can cause crippling or fatal blood clots, despite already having other means of birth control that don't kill anyone. 0_o
>> I'm wierd; I actually think about (non-cosmetic) smells in terms of bonding, scent anchors, and collecting information about the universe far more often than most people in my culture. <<
I agree. I use scent a lot.
>> The fact that I am very much a cat person and thereby have spent a lot of time around beings who routinely use smell to communicate information or reassure themselves may explain that a bit. <<
Wolf here.
>> The bipsych class in college probably didn't hurt either. <<
That makes sense. Science can be useful.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2021-10-26 02:21 pm (UTC)I read somewhere that one of the delays in developing birth control for men* is that experimental safety standards have improved in the past several decades. So wht was acceptable in the development of female birth control in the...what? 1950's? is now a big no-no.
*Not counting condoms, they were originally developed to prevent syphilis, not babies, if I remember right.
>>I agree. I use scent a lot.<<
Actually, come to think of it - scent is so unnoticed in thus culture most people wont think to fake it, or disguise it, if they even can. (People make fake flower smells, but they dont make fake personal smells.) That could have interesting implications for being used as a form of reassurance or trust password...