Poem: "Braiding Manes"
Jan. 18th, 2024 05:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the December 6, 2022 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from fuzzyred and see_also_friend. It also fills the "Prairies" square in my 12-1-22 card for the Wonders of Nature Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the Dr. Infanta and Iron Horses threads of the Polychrome Heroics series.
"Braiding Manes"
[Monday, September 28, 2015]
Kenzie wasn't much interested in politics.
Studying spiritual responsibilities, yes;
various types of tribal activism, yes;
cultural events like powwows, yes;
but his role in the state affairs of
Rocky Boy's Reservation consisted
largely of taking his horse form and
dressing up in full regalia to carry
elders to important meetings.
So he knew that the Maldives
and Thalassia were reaching out
to the First Nations and had sent
representatives around Montana,
but he hadn't followed it too closely.
Then he found out that one of
the representatives was a horse.
Judd wasn't particularly interested
in politics either, having come along
with a human friend; but he was
quite interested in finding out
how the locals treated horses.
Thus Kenzie came out
to the tribal corral to find
a swarm of maidens armed
with brushes and combs,
baskets of flowers, mirrors,
and bundles of ribbons.
Oh, so Judd liked
dressing up too.
This ought to be fun.
So far, the girls were
bedecking Judd with
flowers in shades of
pink, purple, and white.
Indian paintbrush was
a deep pinkish-red.
Hoary tansy-aster and
smooth blue aster were
lavender and pale blue.
White prairie aster and
yarrow were both white.
They all looked splendid
against his glossy black coat.
Kenzie's appearance made
the girls scurry out into the prairie
to search for different flowers.
They brought goldenrod,
golden tickseed, and
prairie coneflower in
shades of yellow.
The blanketflowers
were yellow with bits
of red, orange, bronze,
or brown in the centers.
They looked dazzling
against his chestnut spots.
It was so relaxing to stand
in the warm sun with girls
combing and brushing
and braiding his mane.
Judd reached over
and draped his head
over Kenzie's back
in a horsey hug.
Yeah, that was nice.
* * *
Notes:
Montana Fall Flowers (see family Asteraceae)
Kenzie: blanketflower, goldenrod, golden tickseed, prairie coneflower
Judd: Indian paintbrush, hoary tansy-aster, smooth blue aster, white prairie aster, yarrow
Braiding manes and tails of horses is often done for parades. You can also use artificial clip-on flowers.
fuzzyred and see_also_friend. It also fills the "Prairies" square in my 12-1-22 card for the Wonders of Nature Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the Dr. Infanta and Iron Horses threads of the Polychrome Heroics series."Braiding Manes"
[Monday, September 28, 2015]
Kenzie wasn't much interested in politics.
Studying spiritual responsibilities, yes;
various types of tribal activism, yes;
cultural events like powwows, yes;
but his role in the state affairs of
Rocky Boy's Reservation consisted
largely of taking his horse form and
dressing up in full regalia to carry
elders to important meetings.
So he knew that the Maldives
and Thalassia were reaching out
to the First Nations and had sent
representatives around Montana,
but he hadn't followed it too closely.
Then he found out that one of
the representatives was a horse.
Judd wasn't particularly interested
in politics either, having come along
with a human friend; but he was
quite interested in finding out
how the locals treated horses.
Thus Kenzie came out
to the tribal corral to find
a swarm of maidens armed
with brushes and combs,
baskets of flowers, mirrors,
and bundles of ribbons.
Oh, so Judd liked
dressing up too.
This ought to be fun.
So far, the girls were
bedecking Judd with
flowers in shades of
pink, purple, and white.
Indian paintbrush was
a deep pinkish-red.
Hoary tansy-aster and
smooth blue aster were
lavender and pale blue.
White prairie aster and
yarrow were both white.
They all looked splendid
against his glossy black coat.
Kenzie's appearance made
the girls scurry out into the prairie
to search for different flowers.
They brought goldenrod,
golden tickseed, and
prairie coneflower in
shades of yellow.
The blanketflowers
were yellow with bits
of red, orange, bronze,
or brown in the centers.
They looked dazzling
against his chestnut spots.
It was so relaxing to stand
in the warm sun with girls
combing and brushing
and braiding his mane.
Judd reached over
and draped his head
over Kenzie's back
in a horsey hug.
Yeah, that was nice.
* * *
Notes:
Montana Fall Flowers (see family Asteraceae)
Kenzie: blanketflower, goldenrod, golden tickseed, prairie coneflower
Judd: Indian paintbrush, hoary tansy-aster, smooth blue aster, white prairie aster, yarrow
Braiding manes and tails of horses is often done for parades. You can also use artificial clip-on flowers.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2024-01-24 04:31 am (UTC)Many different species have been trained as assistance animals. Miniature horses are becoming quite popular as seeing-eye guides.
>> I just can't find a way for it to be okay to make one class of beings do all the shitwork so others don't have to. <<
There are two aspects to consider:
1) "Make." Forcing anyone to do things against their will is not okay. But living together, bartering, and hiring can all work just fine so long as they are voluntary. It used to be the norm for the husband to work a job for cash while the wife did all the homemaking. While some people found this arrangement abusive, others quite enjoyed it.
2) "Shitwork." This depends entirely on personal taste. I detest doing dishes but I don't mind killing vermin. I enjoy writing but hate math; some people are the opposite. It is not okay to push people into doing work they hate, especially without fair recompense. But people like doing different things, and homemaking tasks are fairly popular. Even more people are content to do them if reasonably well paid and not harassed.
>> And the Hertasi are born with a driving psychological need to do things for humans. I question the ethics of the mage who bred them. <<
This is the same guy who made it impossible for gryphons to get pregnant accidentally. He thought through things a lot more than anyone else around him.
I wouldn't call it a driving psychological need. Hertasi can live alone if they wish -- there's the tale of Gervase the Lizard Wizard, for instance. Let's say Hertasi are inclined to take care of people. They do that with each other. They do it with friends of any other species. The bigger limitation is that they're really not equipped for combat. But that's also true of various other species, not all of whom were necessarily created by mages.
>>On the other pseudopod, I bitterly hate doing shitwork.<<
Totally fine. I'm not a fan of most housework. Caring for people isn't my prime motivation either. I'll do it for people I'm very close with. But if the world was all people like me? It would fall apart. The same is true of any other personality or skill set. Diversity is strength.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2024-01-24 08:06 am (UTC)I hate doing dishes. I hate cleaning the house. I don't like killing vermin - when I had to get a mouse out of my house, I used a no-kill trap and released the little beggar somewhere it could find a hiding place and some food.
Any warrior group would set the Hertasi to work forging weapons and armor, sewing uniforms and tents, and cooking preserved food and stockpiling it.
THe wizard who designed the Hertasi, along with the Bondbirds and possibly the Companions and the Firecats.
You sweep a floor or do a load of laundry. But the floor's going to get dirty again and the clothes are going to need washing again. Nobody likes to feel that their unpleasant/unsanitary/arduous/thankless labor is completely futile. And some of the families on our block when I grew up had a cleaning lady who came once a week. I'd feel horribly exploitive if I paid someone to clean up my messes and wait on me. I need a robot housemaid, whose programming is strongly biased in favor of doing what makes humans happy. Just like this computer has been adjusted, updated, and tweaked to do EXACTLY what I want it to do the way I want it done.
I wish I had access to the level of magic that mage was reputed to have. I'd re-grow my gall bladder so I don't have to get weird about what I eat. I'd try to undo the damage that was done by the stroke. I'd probably try to figure out how to fly, as long as I could do it without causing harm. He thought of a lot of possibilities, including how the backlash from magic warfare would affect the world. Well, Lackey does pose a stellar example of world-building.
(I like your world better.)