Poem: "We're All Mad"
This poem came out of the October 7, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from 
alexseanchai. It also fills the "love without hope" square on my 9-1-14 card for the
ladiesbingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the series Polychrome Heroics.
"We're All Mad"
A woman is a castle tall,
a moat and gate and curtain wall --
you can't break through and can't get in
so you camp out beside her then.
A woman is a force of law,
like nature's squall is filled with awe --
you cannot hope to understand
so you stay close as her right hand.
We're all mad in here together,
scent of mud and moor and heather,
from a word of song and science
to a weird kind of alliance --
we're all mad.
A stalker isn't moved by love,
That isn't what I'm singing of;
She wants a partner, needs a friend --
That's what it comes to, in the end.
Her heart's a magnet to your steel;
You cannot help the way you feel --
Surrender to her citadel;
You'll both be grateful that you fell.
We're all mad in here together,
scent of mud and moor and heather,
from a word of song and science
to a weird kind of alliance --
we're all mad.
Garage or kitchen, home or lab,
Computer, lever, switch or tab --
The things she touches are but tools
The ones who follow are but fools.
Yet take her as the way she is,
A pretty girl and science whiz --
The mysteries will disappear
'Til all of life comes clean and clear.
We're all mad in here together,
scent of mud and moor and heather,
from a word of song and science
to a weird kind of alliance --
we're all mad, yes we're mad!
* * *
Notes:
This poem is actually a popular song by Dr. Laser and the Nocturnal Emissions. It's about the Socket's crush on Fortressa, first mentioned in " Pulling Pigtails" which despite the supervillain context is actually one of the healthiest relationships featured in this setting. It's a love song about mismatched passion turned platonic, the connection concealed in kennings about castles and laboratories. Misty Morn wrote it for Nightshade to sing, based on some carefully edited stories from Nightshade's supervillain days.
"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."
-- Mark Twain
The idea that love makes you crazy is both an entertainment trope and an observation from everyday life.
Really though, love is acceptance. In this case it started with Fortressa accepting Socket as a smart mechanic, which led to Socket accepting Fortressa's disinterest in sex/romance and still loving her anyway. Unconditional love is what maintains despite negative circumstances. It's rare but it does happen. Understand how to love someone unconditionally.
Love =/= Sex. Love can be nonromantic and/or nonsexual. Friendship can be passionate and intimate. There are many ways to love someone. What I adore about this relationship is that Socket refuses to give up on Fortressa just because the first attempt to match up doesn't work. Socket would like to have a lesbian relationship, but she's homosocial as well as homosexual. Since Fortressa is also homosocial, they're compatible on that bandwidth and have developed a very close connection. Most advice on what to do if you love someone, who doesn't love you back the way you want, is about how to abandon the relationship and walk away. It doesn't have to be that way; you can seek for a different way to match up, and sometimes that works.
alexseanchai. It also fills the "love without hope" square on my 9-1-14 card for the
ladiesbingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the series Polychrome Heroics.
"We're All Mad"
A woman is a castle tall,
a moat and gate and curtain wall --
you can't break through and can't get in
so you camp out beside her then.
A woman is a force of law,
like nature's squall is filled with awe --
you cannot hope to understand
so you stay close as her right hand.
We're all mad in here together,
scent of mud and moor and heather,
from a word of song and science
to a weird kind of alliance --
we're all mad.
A stalker isn't moved by love,
That isn't what I'm singing of;
She wants a partner, needs a friend --
That's what it comes to, in the end.
Her heart's a magnet to your steel;
You cannot help the way you feel --
Surrender to her citadel;
You'll both be grateful that you fell.
We're all mad in here together,
scent of mud and moor and heather,
from a word of song and science
to a weird kind of alliance --
we're all mad.
Garage or kitchen, home or lab,
Computer, lever, switch or tab --
The things she touches are but tools
The ones who follow are but fools.
Yet take her as the way she is,
A pretty girl and science whiz --
The mysteries will disappear
'Til all of life comes clean and clear.
We're all mad in here together,
scent of mud and moor and heather,
from a word of song and science
to a weird kind of alliance --
we're all mad, yes we're mad!
* * *
Notes:
This poem is actually a popular song by Dr. Laser and the Nocturnal Emissions. It's about the Socket's crush on Fortressa, first mentioned in " Pulling Pigtails" which despite the supervillain context is actually one of the healthiest relationships featured in this setting. It's a love song about mismatched passion turned platonic, the connection concealed in kennings about castles and laboratories. Misty Morn wrote it for Nightshade to sing, based on some carefully edited stories from Nightshade's supervillain days.
"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."
-- Mark Twain
The idea that love makes you crazy is both an entertainment trope and an observation from everyday life.
Really though, love is acceptance. In this case it started with Fortressa accepting Socket as a smart mechanic, which led to Socket accepting Fortressa's disinterest in sex/romance and still loving her anyway. Unconditional love is what maintains despite negative circumstances. It's rare but it does happen. Understand how to love someone unconditionally.
Love =/= Sex. Love can be nonromantic and/or nonsexual. Friendship can be passionate and intimate. There are many ways to love someone. What I adore about this relationship is that Socket refuses to give up on Fortressa just because the first attempt to match up doesn't work. Socket would like to have a lesbian relationship, but she's homosocial as well as homosexual. Since Fortressa is also homosocial, they're compatible on that bandwidth and have developed a very close connection. Most advice on what to do if you love someone, who doesn't love you back the way you want, is about how to abandon the relationship and walk away. It doesn't have to be that way; you can seek for a different way to match up, and sometimes that works.