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ysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the March 17, 2026 Bonus Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from readera. It also fills the "Woodworking" square in my 3-1-26 card for the National Crafting Month Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by fuzzyred. It belongs to the Broken Angels thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It follows "Preserving the Quality and Character," so read that first or this won't make much sense.
"A Proper Community Is a Commonwealth"
[Mid-February, 2016]
Boss Blaster enjoyed
watching the progress of
Pressnall Pocket Neighborhood.
A team of day workers came
to clear the lot of random trash,
remove dead weeds, and trim
stray branches out of the way.
The city sent someone out
to mark underground utilities
with colorful little flags.
Then Boss Blaster could
use eco-friendly paint
to divide the lot, showing
where the tiny houses,
other buildings, and
paths would later go.
"What do you think?"
he asked Carlton.
"It's a great start,"
Carlton said. "I've
got several classes
of students starting
indoor construction
of the tiny homes."
"Thank you so much
for handling that part,"
said Boss Blaster. "I
had to scramble to find
folks who can build me
bluebird houses in a hurry.
Pairs will start scouting
for nest space soon."
"I look forward to seeing
your trail," said Carlton.
[Early March, 2016]
Bluebirds Across Nebraska
sent a crew to install a trail
of six new bluebird houses.
They would also handle
the regular monitoring
to track which if any
birds used the houses.
"Let's mark out the sites
for the caterpillar gardens,"
Boss Blaster said as he
waved to Bobbie and Kato.
"How come we need
special gardens for
caterpillars?" Kato said.
"Because people who know
more about wildlife than I do
advised me that baby birds
eat caterpillars, and which
plants the caterpillars need,"
said Boss Blaster. "It'll work."
[Mid-March, 2016]
Dozer came out to clean
the earth, making sure
that it held no lead or
other toxic substances.
He also marked where
the roots of the trees ended,
so that construction wouldn't
threaten the surrounding hedge.
Then the heavy equipment
arrived to help Dozer with
excavating holes for all
of the basements and
the storm shelter.
"I'm sorry that it looks
like the back side of
the Moon," Dozer said.
Boss Blaster shrugged.
"It won't stay that way,"
he said. "I enjoy watching
a good plan take shape."
"I miss Cas," said Dozer.
"I was looking forward
to his home cooking."
"You and me both,"
Boss Blaster agreed.
"He's busy dealing with
some personal stuff,
but he'll come home
in a couple of weeks."
[Late March, 2016]
The huge holes had
been smoothed over after
the basements were done
and the shelter installed.
Next the construction workers
started laying foundations
for the various buildings.
Boss Blaster helped a team
of his people as they set up
some of the paths and
clusters of raised beds.
"It looks a lot better than
it did before," said Bobbie.
"Yeah, but it's still mud
everywhere," said Kato.
"Not for much longer,"
Boss Blaster assured him.
[Early April, 2016]
Students delivered
the tiny houses and,
with teacher supervision,
hooked up the utilities.
Boss Blaster admired
the woodworking, where
some crafters had added
sweet little details such as
porch trim or windowboxes.
Another team put sod
around the houses.
Construction began on
above-ground portions
of the common buildings.
Boss Blaster joined
Bobbie and Kato in
stocking the shelter
with food, water, and
other emergency supplies.
Kato looked at the cases
as they stowed everything
underneath the benches.
"Do you think this will be
enough?" he said. "I mean,
if the shit really hits the fan?"
"It will be enough to cover
short-term needs for the kind
of disasters we typically have
in Nebraska, such as tornadoes,"
said Boss Blaster. "The shelter
had a recommended supply list."
"I'm just glad that Cas is home
to handle our supplies," said Bobbie.
"We agree on that," Boss Blaster said.
Cas had needed the time off, but
getting by without him had
been a scramble at times.
[Mid-April, 2016]
They furnished the tiny houses
with basic domestic materials --
furniture, linens, kitchen equipment.
Cas was indispensable in finding
sets of things that were frugal but
still made a house look like a home.
One had been done in patterns of
different citrus fruits on the curtains
and tablecloths, another in grasses
of soft beige and gold and misty green.
Hali flitted around, testing the cribs
and sleeping lofts intended for children.
Trucks carried early, spring-hardy plants
to put in raised beds, community gardens,
and caterpillar gardens around the lot.
A flatbed held saplings and trays of
plants for the food forest guild,
which resembled a mini-orchard
with other plants connecting it all.
They included walnut, hazelnut,
cherry, pear, plum, peach, apple,
apricot, and mulberry along with
raspberry, daffodil, and all kinds
of other small supportive plants.
"It's hard to believe these are
fruit trees," Kato said as he
lugged the pear to its place.
"Right now, they just look
like a bunch of dead sticks."
"That's 'cause they're dormant,"
said Bobbie. "They grow better if
you move 'em while they're sleeping."
Boss Blaster had been advised of this
and followed the instructions meticulously.
[Early May, 2016]
With the common buildings finished,
they could finish the paths and
plazas around those areas.
A junior high shop class had
donated a dozen benches, all
decorated with a variety of
small cutouts for drainage.
Some of the shapes were
a little wonky from kids who
were still learning how to use
a jigsaw, but that was okay --
you could still identify stars,
moons, rabbits, and Nebraska.
Boss Blaster watched a team
as they put in the landscaping
around the common areas.
Some of those plantings
echoed the native species
farther out, but there were also
more cultivated flowers here, and
little things like strawberry pots
for the residents to nibble at.
They also needed to furnish
the common buildings, which
involved a lot of Boss Blaster
standing around while Cas
paced back and forth, talking
rapidly with someone in Italy.
Boss Blaster was glad that
Cas had friends among
other houseparents so
he could ask for advice.
Once the buildings were done,
a construction crew came out
from the home improvement store
to install a front privacy fence and gate.
"What do you think?" Boss Blaster
asked Cas, who was still skittish
in some ways. "Does the fence
make you feel safe and private,
or uncomfortably closed in?"
"Not closed," Cas said.
"The gate frame sticks up
so you can see where it is."
"That's actually a torii gate,"
Boss Blaster said. "I saw it
in the catalog for Zen gardens
and thought it might help."
"It really does," said Cas.
He turned slowly in place.
"The hedge is protective too."
"That reminds me, we need to do
a bit more outdoor decorating,"
Boss Blaster said. "There are
birdbaths and birdfeeders to put up."
"I heard that we're planting the last
of the caterpillar gardens," said Cas.
"Yes, the plants that require
warmer weather to thrive,"
said Boss Blaster. "I was
given a list of planting times."
He enjoyed puttering around
in a garden occasionally, and
was up to his wrists in compost
when Cas tapped his shoulder.
"Hey boss, Lula's here from
the Affordable Housing Office,"
said Cas. "Maybe take a break?"
Boss Blaster straightened up and
tried futilely to dust off his hands.
Lula just laughed and said, "Don't
worry about a little dirt. I just
dropped by to check on progress."
"All the infrastructure is done,"
said Boss Blaster. "We're
just decorating nature a bit."
"That's good to hear," she said.
"Affordable Housing is ready
to start taking applications for
the tiny house units, if you are."
"We're ready and waiting,"
Boss Blaster agreed.
[Mid-May, 2016]
The first residents were
moving into their tiny houses.
So far, only the first cluster and
part of the second were occupied.
Lula had really gone all out talking
with people about their interests,
in hopes of placing compatible folks
close enough to feel like neighbors.
Also, now it was time to plant
the truly summer crops such as
tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini.
These were bush varieties that
wouldn't get too big but would
still produce plenty of food.
"Everyone looks happy,"
Boss Blaster said, watching
people plant seedlings in
their new raised beds.
"They're staking a claim
on their homes," Lula said.
"That'd make anyone happy."
"True," said Boss Blaster. "I
wanted to make this feel like
a real neighborhood, and not
just some charity housing thing."
"A proper community is a commonwealth:
a place, a resource, an economy. It answers
the needs, practical as well as social and
spiritual, of its members -- among them
the need to need one another," said Lula.
"The answer to the present alignment of
political power with wealth is the restoration
of the identity of community and economy."
"Yes," said Boss Blaster. "That's it exactly."
[Early June, 2016]
Everything was chaos,
even days after the Big One,
even as far away as Nebraska.
Refugees were pouring east,
because the West Coast
couldn't hold them anymore
with so much left in ruins.
The rest of the country
was doing its level best
to cope with the surge.
Cas was handling things
before Boss Blaster had
even thought of them.
The button twins were
busy organizing cleanups
and odd jobs like ensuring
the fixer-uppers were fixed.
That left Boss Blaster to cover
Pressnall Pocket Neighborhood.
Lula was there too, clipboard
in hand, as she tried to sort
the refugees into the units
that remained available.
"Thank you again for
opening up your property
as emergency housing,"
she said, checking a list.
"It's what I could do,"
Boss Blaster replied.
He felt helpless in the face
of the earthquake. Probably
everyone felt the same way.
"You're making a big difference,"
said Lula. "Housing first is
essential for solving problems."
Boss Blaster hadn't thought
about it that way, but it was true.
"I can't give back what they've lost,
but I can give them a foundation
for something new," he said.
"That," said Lula, "is why
so many people follow you."
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its notes appear elsewhere.
readera. It also fills the "Woodworking" square in my 3-1-26 card for the National Crafting Month Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by fuzzyred. It belongs to the Broken Angels thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It follows "Preserving the Quality and Character," so read that first or this won't make much sense."A Proper Community Is a Commonwealth"
[Mid-February, 2016]
Boss Blaster enjoyed
watching the progress of
Pressnall Pocket Neighborhood.
A team of day workers came
to clear the lot of random trash,
remove dead weeds, and trim
stray branches out of the way.
The city sent someone out
to mark underground utilities
with colorful little flags.
Then Boss Blaster could
use eco-friendly paint
to divide the lot, showing
where the tiny houses,
other buildings, and
paths would later go.
"What do you think?"
he asked Carlton.
"It's a great start,"
Carlton said. "I've
got several classes
of students starting
indoor construction
of the tiny homes."
"Thank you so much
for handling that part,"
said Boss Blaster. "I
had to scramble to find
folks who can build me
bluebird houses in a hurry.
Pairs will start scouting
for nest space soon."
"I look forward to seeing
your trail," said Carlton.
[Early March, 2016]
Bluebirds Across Nebraska
sent a crew to install a trail
of six new bluebird houses.
They would also handle
the regular monitoring
to track which if any
birds used the houses.
"Let's mark out the sites
for the caterpillar gardens,"
Boss Blaster said as he
waved to Bobbie and Kato.
"How come we need
special gardens for
caterpillars?" Kato said.
"Because people who know
more about wildlife than I do
advised me that baby birds
eat caterpillars, and which
plants the caterpillars need,"
said Boss Blaster. "It'll work."
[Mid-March, 2016]
Dozer came out to clean
the earth, making sure
that it held no lead or
other toxic substances.
He also marked where
the roots of the trees ended,
so that construction wouldn't
threaten the surrounding hedge.
Then the heavy equipment
arrived to help Dozer with
excavating holes for all
of the basements and
the storm shelter.
"I'm sorry that it looks
like the back side of
the Moon," Dozer said.
Boss Blaster shrugged.
"It won't stay that way,"
he said. "I enjoy watching
a good plan take shape."
"I miss Cas," said Dozer.
"I was looking forward
to his home cooking."
"You and me both,"
Boss Blaster agreed.
"He's busy dealing with
some personal stuff,
but he'll come home
in a couple of weeks."
[Late March, 2016]
The huge holes had
been smoothed over after
the basements were done
and the shelter installed.
Next the construction workers
started laying foundations
for the various buildings.
Boss Blaster helped a team
of his people as they set up
some of the paths and
clusters of raised beds.
"It looks a lot better than
it did before," said Bobbie.
"Yeah, but it's still mud
everywhere," said Kato.
"Not for much longer,"
Boss Blaster assured him.
[Early April, 2016]
Students delivered
the tiny houses and,
with teacher supervision,
hooked up the utilities.
Boss Blaster admired
the woodworking, where
some crafters had added
sweet little details such as
porch trim or windowboxes.
Another team put sod
around the houses.
Construction began on
above-ground portions
of the common buildings.
Boss Blaster joined
Bobbie and Kato in
stocking the shelter
with food, water, and
other emergency supplies.
Kato looked at the cases
as they stowed everything
underneath the benches.
"Do you think this will be
enough?" he said. "I mean,
if the shit really hits the fan?"
"It will be enough to cover
short-term needs for the kind
of disasters we typically have
in Nebraska, such as tornadoes,"
said Boss Blaster. "The shelter
had a recommended supply list."
"I'm just glad that Cas is home
to handle our supplies," said Bobbie.
"We agree on that," Boss Blaster said.
Cas had needed the time off, but
getting by without him had
been a scramble at times.
[Mid-April, 2016]
They furnished the tiny houses
with basic domestic materials --
furniture, linens, kitchen equipment.
Cas was indispensable in finding
sets of things that were frugal but
still made a house look like a home.
One had been done in patterns of
different citrus fruits on the curtains
and tablecloths, another in grasses
of soft beige and gold and misty green.
Hali flitted around, testing the cribs
and sleeping lofts intended for children.
Trucks carried early, spring-hardy plants
to put in raised beds, community gardens,
and caterpillar gardens around the lot.
A flatbed held saplings and trays of
plants for the food forest guild,
which resembled a mini-orchard
with other plants connecting it all.
They included walnut, hazelnut,
cherry, pear, plum, peach, apple,
apricot, and mulberry along with
raspberry, daffodil, and all kinds
of other small supportive plants.
"It's hard to believe these are
fruit trees," Kato said as he
lugged the pear to its place.
"Right now, they just look
like a bunch of dead sticks."
"That's 'cause they're dormant,"
said Bobbie. "They grow better if
you move 'em while they're sleeping."
Boss Blaster had been advised of this
and followed the instructions meticulously.
[Early May, 2016]
With the common buildings finished,
they could finish the paths and
plazas around those areas.
A junior high shop class had
donated a dozen benches, all
decorated with a variety of
small cutouts for drainage.
Some of the shapes were
a little wonky from kids who
were still learning how to use
a jigsaw, but that was okay --
you could still identify stars,
moons, rabbits, and Nebraska.
Boss Blaster watched a team
as they put in the landscaping
around the common areas.
Some of those plantings
echoed the native species
farther out, but there were also
more cultivated flowers here, and
little things like strawberry pots
for the residents to nibble at.
They also needed to furnish
the common buildings, which
involved a lot of Boss Blaster
standing around while Cas
paced back and forth, talking
rapidly with someone in Italy.
Boss Blaster was glad that
Cas had friends among
other houseparents so
he could ask for advice.
Once the buildings were done,
a construction crew came out
from the home improvement store
to install a front privacy fence and gate.
"What do you think?" Boss Blaster
asked Cas, who was still skittish
in some ways. "Does the fence
make you feel safe and private,
or uncomfortably closed in?"
"Not closed," Cas said.
"The gate frame sticks up
so you can see where it is."
"That's actually a torii gate,"
Boss Blaster said. "I saw it
in the catalog for Zen gardens
and thought it might help."
"It really does," said Cas.
He turned slowly in place.
"The hedge is protective too."
"That reminds me, we need to do
a bit more outdoor decorating,"
Boss Blaster said. "There are
birdbaths and birdfeeders to put up."
"I heard that we're planting the last
of the caterpillar gardens," said Cas.
"Yes, the plants that require
warmer weather to thrive,"
said Boss Blaster. "I was
given a list of planting times."
He enjoyed puttering around
in a garden occasionally, and
was up to his wrists in compost
when Cas tapped his shoulder.
"Hey boss, Lula's here from
the Affordable Housing Office,"
said Cas. "Maybe take a break?"
Boss Blaster straightened up and
tried futilely to dust off his hands.
Lula just laughed and said, "Don't
worry about a little dirt. I just
dropped by to check on progress."
"All the infrastructure is done,"
said Boss Blaster. "We're
just decorating nature a bit."
"That's good to hear," she said.
"Affordable Housing is ready
to start taking applications for
the tiny house units, if you are."
"We're ready and waiting,"
Boss Blaster agreed.
[Mid-May, 2016]
The first residents were
moving into their tiny houses.
So far, only the first cluster and
part of the second were occupied.
Lula had really gone all out talking
with people about their interests,
in hopes of placing compatible folks
close enough to feel like neighbors.
Also, now it was time to plant
the truly summer crops such as
tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini.
These were bush varieties that
wouldn't get too big but would
still produce plenty of food.
"Everyone looks happy,"
Boss Blaster said, watching
people plant seedlings in
their new raised beds.
"They're staking a claim
on their homes," Lula said.
"That'd make anyone happy."
"True," said Boss Blaster. "I
wanted to make this feel like
a real neighborhood, and not
just some charity housing thing."
"A proper community is a commonwealth:
a place, a resource, an economy. It answers
the needs, practical as well as social and
spiritual, of its members -- among them
the need to need one another," said Lula.
"The answer to the present alignment of
political power with wealth is the restoration
of the identity of community and economy."
"Yes," said Boss Blaster. "That's it exactly."
[Early June, 2016]
Everything was chaos,
even days after the Big One,
even as far away as Nebraska.
Refugees were pouring east,
because the West Coast
couldn't hold them anymore
with so much left in ruins.
The rest of the country
was doing its level best
to cope with the surge.
Cas was handling things
before Boss Blaster had
even thought of them.
The button twins were
busy organizing cleanups
and odd jobs like ensuring
the fixer-uppers were fixed.
That left Boss Blaster to cover
Pressnall Pocket Neighborhood.
Lula was there too, clipboard
in hand, as she tried to sort
the refugees into the units
that remained available.
"Thank you again for
opening up your property
as emergency housing,"
she said, checking a list.
"It's what I could do,"
Boss Blaster replied.
He felt helpless in the face
of the earthquake. Probably
everyone felt the same way.
"You're making a big difference,"
said Lula. "Housing first is
essential for solving problems."
Boss Blaster hadn't thought
about it that way, but it was true.
"I can't give back what they've lost,
but I can give them a foundation
for something new," he said.
"That," said Lula, "is why
so many people follow you."
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its notes appear elsewhere.
(no subject)
Date: 2026-05-24 08:47 pm (UTC)