ysabetwordsmith | Poem: "The Walking Trees"

This poem is spillover from the June 3, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from

rosieknight. It also fills the "Mobile / Carnivorous Plants" square in my 6-1-14 card for the

genprompt_bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored via the general fund, based on an audience poll. It belongs to the series Polychrome Heroics.

"The Walking Trees"

"Trees are attacking our poolhouse,"
the caller said. "Please make them stop."

Asterope and Taygeta looked at each other,
and then the twin sisters giggled.
"Easy City gets the weirdest calls,"
Asterope said.

"Don't laugh," the dispatcher said.
"I'm sending you to deal with this.
Asterope, your solar powers should
serve to dissuade them, or if necessary,
destroy them completely.
Taygeta, your super-strength and
flexibility help draw the trees
away from the threatened property."

The call had come from Naples, Florida --
the Super Power Organizational & Operational Nexus
only had a handful of bases around the nation --
so they had to get a teleporter to carry them.

The trees turned out to be red mangroves,
and they were indeed dismantling a poolhouse
one long thin board at a time.
They moved slowly compared to animals,
but quite fast for trees.

Taygeta grabbed the nearest tree
and tried to haul it towards the coast.
It creaked in protest.

"They're stronger than they look,"
she panted, muscles flexing
under her fair skin.

Asterope framed her hands into a lens
to focus the sun's power, aiming
a narrow beam of heat at the trees.
With a sizzle, smoke began to rise.

Then the nearest tree grabbed her,
its thick root wrapping around her
so that she couldn't use her arms.

Taygeta struggled to pry it loose,
but trees were powerful creatures.
By the time she succeeded,
Asterope was panting for breath.

"Maybe we should try something else,"
Taygeta said, eyeing the hostile foliage.

So Taygeta wound her elastic body
around the nearby palm trees,
using them as anchors, while she
looped around the mangroves and
pulled them away from the poolhouse.

Asterope stood back a safe distance
and sent little bolts of sunlight
zinging at the trees to make them move.

Sulkily the mangroves let go of the boards
and backed out of the caller's yard.
They were trying to get at the neighbor's garage
when someone from wildlife management
arrived to take them to the Everglades.

As they herded the trees onto the truck,
Asterope realized that there was
a blue-and-orange inflatable pool dragon
wedged high in the branches.

"Let them keep it," Taygeta said, giggling again.

* * *

Notes:

Asterope (Agatha Megalos) -- She has fair skin, hazel eyes, and long wavy golden-brown hair. She favors bold pure colors, especially red. Her heritage is Greek-American. She uses welding to create impressive metal sculptures. Her solar abilities include photosynthesis, igniting or melting things, and focusing sunlight into a cutting beam.
Origin: Unable to conceive, her mother prayed to Aphrodite and later bore twin girls. Agatha's power manifested at puberty.
Uniform: Red dexflan with a white stylized sun on the chest.
Qualities: Expert (+4) Popular, Expert (+4) Sculptor, Good (+2) Intellect
Poor (-2) Hothead
Powers: Master (+6) Sun Powers
Limitation: Her Sun Powers only work in daylight.
Motivation: To stand against the powers of darkness.

Taygeta (Tanith Megalos) -- She has fair skin, hazel eyes, and long wavy golden-brown hair. Her heritage is Greek-American. She favors hot neon colors such as fuchsia or turquoise. Tanith uses her superpowers most often for coastal rescues and repairs.
Origin: Unable to conceive, her mother prayed to Aphrodite and later bore twin girls. Tanith's power manifested at puberty.
Uniform: Fuchsia dexflan with a rounded Greek labyrinth on the front in white.
Qualities: Good (+2) Dexterity, Good (+2) Friends in the Coast Guard, Good (+2) Physics, Good (+2) Resilient, Good (+2) Water Sports
Poor (-2) Sticking With It
Powers: Expert (+4) Super-Strength, Good (+2) Elastic Form
Motivation: To bend without breaking.

* * *

Asterope and Taygeta are named after two of the Pleiades, seven sisters in Greek mythology and also a star cluster.

Easy City is a metroplex in Louisiana. It surrounds Lake Ponchartrain, spanning the cities of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Slidell.

Naples, Florida has some of the most expensive real estate in the country.

Mangroves, and especially red mangroves, form a vital part of the Everglades ecosystem. They also appear along much of the warm coastline, holding it in place.

This is the pool dragon carried off by the mangroves.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The anchor city for Mississippi would probably be Poplarville, and include Picayune, McNeil and Carriere. These are all in Pearl River County. Parts of Hancock County would be included, maybe all the way to Waveland and Bay St. Louis, but it’s looking more as if those two cities are going to merge and then merge with Gulfport/Biloxi. Gulfport/Biloxi are two cities in Mississippi that are already so integrated that that’s how they are referred to all the time. It’s rarely just Gulfport or just Biloxi; they’ve even talked about changing the name. The problem with giving a city in Hancock County is that there aren’t any until you get to Waveland, it’s just unincorporated Hancock County, but people still live there. Maybe Pearlington or Diamondhead would work.

There are a lot points to talk about, would it be better if I posted my thoughts, etc., on each point on my dreamwidth, and then sent you a link? I'm not too fond of scrolling through comments sections like this, but I don't know how you feel about it. Either way is fine with me.

>> The anchor city for Mississippi would probably be Poplarville, and include Picayune, McNeil and Carriere. These are all in Pearl River County. <<

I've added Picayune. The others seems pretty far north.

>> Parts of Hancock County would be included, maybe all the way to Waveland and Bay St. Louis, but it’s looking more as if those two cities are going to merge and then merge with Gulfport/Biloxi. Gulfport/Biloxi are two cities in Mississippi that are already so integrated that that’s how they are referred to all the time. It’s rarely just Gulfport or just Biloxi; they’ve even talked about changing the name. The problem with giving a city in Hancock County is that there aren’t any until you get to Waveland, it’s just unincorporated Hancock County, but people still live there. <<

Hmm, you're probably right about Gulfport/Biloxi merging, and they may be more inclined to hook up with Mobile. For what it's worth, the metroplexes are still growing, and mass-transit is popular so the lines get extended wherever there is population to support them.

>> Maybe Pearlington or Diamondhead would work. <<

I've added Pearlington too, so that's two Mississippi cities.

>> There are a lot points to talk about, would it be better if I posted my thoughts, etc., on each point on my dreamwidth, and then sent you a link? I'm not too fond of scrolling through comments sections like this, but I don't know how you feel about it. Either way is fine with me. <<

I'm flexible. Posts on your blog might be easier to sort out by topic, because threads in comments can get really complex. Alternatively we could do this via email.

I'll post on my blog, so I can sort with tags and such, but it might be useful to exchange some things via email.

Picayune and Pearlington sound right to me.

>> I'll post on my blog, so I can sort with tags and such, but it might be useful to exchange some things via email. <<

Okay, great.

>> Picayune and Pearlington sound right to me. <<

Yay! Thanks for your help.

Poem: "The Walking Trees"

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