Poem: "People Need Other People"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem came out of the November 2, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by ng_moonmoth. It also fills the "You're never alone." square in my 11-1-21 card for the NCIS Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the Blueshift Troupers series.


"People Need Other People"


The Blueshift Troupers
are two halves of a whole,
the human crew inside
the hiveship where they live.

The humans are shapeshifters
who can match the inhabitants
of whatever planet they visit.

Lane is the leader, oldest
and usually male. Jess is
the biotechnologist, next
oldest, usually female.
Emersan is a fighter,
also usually female.

Zasha is the medic,
usually male; Taylor is
the engineer, usually female.

Avory is a scholar specializing
in linguistics and ethnology,
usually male. Reilly is
an entertainer gifted in
empathy, usually female.

Chameleon is a scout,
the youngest member
and usually male.

Even though Zasha
and Taylor make up
the married couple,
they're all family.

Omphalos is
the hiveship -- not
merely transport,
but their home and
part of their family.

Core is a shy one,
the internal organizer.

Helm is the navigator,
calm and businesslike.

Guard is security, with
a tough demeanor.

Healer oversees
the crew's health
and supervises
metamorphosis,
gentle but cool.

Engine deals with
propulsion and repairs,
an energetic personality.

Life monitors life support,
maintaining warm relations
with the human crew.

Analyst processes science
and sensory information,
curious and intellectual.

They are distinct and yet
not separate, conjoined
but not all the same.

Crew and hiveship are
two halves of a whole.

It is their family ties,
among themselves and
each with the other, that
let them collaborate so well.

So when things go wrong
in the wider galaxy, they
are the ones people call.

Whatever the problem, they
are deft and sympathetic.

We're all in this together,
after all. It's okay to be
honest. It's okay to ask
for help when you need it.

It's okay to say you're stuck,
or that you're haunted, or
that you can't begin to let go.

We can all relate to those things.

Reach out, and trust that
someone will be there.

You are not alone, and
people need other people.

Sometimes, the thing that
a stumbling planet needs
the most is not transport
or scholarship or food or
help shooting wild beasts.

Sometimes it's simply
the voice of experience
and people who know how
to get along with each other
even when disagreeing.

Sometimes, what they
really need is a friend
to say, "Life is slippery.
Here, take my hand."

For the Blueshift Troupers,
it's their job to remind folks:

You are never alone.

* * *

Notes:

"We're all in this together. It's okay, to be honest. It's okay to ask for help. It's okay to say you're stuck, or that you're haunted, or that you can't begin to let go. We can all relate to those things. Screw the stigma that says otherwise. Break the silence and break the cycle, for you are more than just your pain. You are not alone. And people need other people."
-- Jamie Tworkowski

"Life is slippery. Here, take my hand."
-- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.