Poem: "Boundary Lines"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This is the second freebie from the bonus fishbowl, courtesy of new prompters jazzyjj and Deb1789 and new donor Debra Ames.  It was inspired by prompts from lynnoconnacht.  It also fills the "courtship rituals" square in my 6-11-14 card for the fanbingo fest.  This poem belongs to the series P.I.E.


"Boundary Lines"

Darrel had made it quite clear
that he didn't want Brenda
to meet his parents, but
they ran into each other
one day at the police station.

With a sigh, Darrel gave in
to the inevitable and made introductions.

Within minutes, Brenda silently admitted
that Darrel had been right all along.

Mrs. Finn simpered and fluttered,
leaning on the arm of Brenda's wheelchair
and occasionally groping for handles that weren't there.

Mr. Finn simply pretended that she did not exist.

It was always a challenge to keep people
from manhandling her hardware
in crowded places, but it was
all the more annoying when they did it
without even that excuse.

Rick was just as bad;
Brenda suspected that
being a construction boss
made him interested in
how things were made.

He had a hard time 
keeping his hands off
her spokes and nuts,
and couldn't keep his
mouth shut if you taped it.

Nate, on the other hand,
tended to drop things in her lap
without looking to make sure
they landed securely, and he
wouldn't sit down to speak with her
but preferred to remain standing.

It was little comfort that he used
the same silly dominance tricks
with everyone else, and it made Brenda
wonder if he was compensating for something.

She usually had to work
at maintaining her boundary lines,
to keep a little bubble of space around herself,
and then again to make people notice her.

She used her hands and arms
in expansive gestures, and
sometimes tapped a foot
even though it startled people.

With Darrel, though, Brenda
didn't have to do any of that.
He flowed around her like wind,
like water, neither hesitating
nor presuming to touch.

Brenda liked that about him,
the way he fit himself into her life
and invited her into his,

their boundaries slowly but surely
beginning to blend together.

* * *

Notes:

The human brain can incorporate a wheelchair into its self-image, so it counts as part of someone's personal space.  Understand the etiquette for wheelchair users and other people with disabilities.

Body language is complicated by such things as gender and social rank.  There are ways to use expansive body language to your advantage. 

Personal boundaries include several types.  Know how to establish and adjust your boundaries to keep people from bothering you.

Close relationships rely on letting your guard down, so you need to know when and how to lower your barriers.  There are always ways of building trust in a relationship.

Comments

Darrel

[dialecticdreamer]

I see a lot of /work/ behind Darrel's differences between himself and his family. That's not only starting from personality differences, but hard, slogging work through the examples around him to decide for himself how to behave.

I like this one a lot!

Re: Darrel

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I see a lot of /work/ behind Darrel's differences between himself and his family. <<

Yes, that's true, and I'm glad it shows through.

>> That's not only starting from personality differences, but hard, slogging work through the examples around him to decide for himself how to behave. <<

I think it must have started with the personality difference, because Darrel is a very affable and nurturing person. So it would have created a lot of shear for him, growing up in a family of assholes. That's probably where he developed the ability to present a false front, which he now uses professionally as an undercover cop. But he must have done some serious work, after he left home, to discover what kind of skills and behaviors would be a better match for his personality. That's probably a combination of self-discovery and good counseling.

>> I like this one a lot! <<

Yay!