Poem: "Follow Your Heart and Intuition"
This poem came out of the May 7, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from Dreamwidth user Chanter1944. It also fills the "(Im)Perfect" square in my 5-1-24 card for the Superhero Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with DW user Fuzzyred. It belongs to An Army of One series.
"Follow Your Heart and Intuition"
Yarro felt nervous and excited --
mostly excited by the opportunity,
but still nervous from the pressure.
She desperately wanted to do well
so that Operetta would keep her,
but she knew that her knowledge
of health care was limited at best.
Yarro had read all about how Operetta
had worked out a balanced diet with
Sam the Gardener, and later assembled
a working hospital -- small, but effective --
from derelict sickbays in the Sargasso
with some help from the Minotaur.
The hospital in Sargasso Base wasn't
fancy, but it was still enough to handle
the Lacuna's current needs, and that
was much more than Yarro had ever
gotten to work with back at Epizygis.
Yarro tucked a lock of white hair
behind her ear and tried not to fidget.
Operetta just pushed a box of
stress balls toward her and said,
"Go ahead and exercise your hands
while I read what Darmid sent me."
Yarro picked up a squishy ball and
squeezed it between her hands.
That helped her relax a little.
Presently Operetta looked up
from the tablet computer. "Tell me
about why you're here," she said.
"Well ... I wanted to be a medic, and
I studied what first aid I could, but people
on Epizygis wouldn't let me keep learning,"
said Yarro. "Tink 001 was nice, though, and
showed me Ravenskull's medical station."
Operetta chuckled. "That ship watches over
humans like a rat with just one pup left."
"Tink 001 said that Ravenskull lost
its pilot, so I can see why it would
want to be ... careful," Yarro replied.
"That's true," said Operetta. "What
about your past? Will that affect
your studies here and now?"
"I don't know," said Yarro.
"I don't think so? I crochet
to relax, and keep my fingers
busy. Darmid found some tests
on medical knowledge, and then
gave me lessons to round out
what I had already learned.
I think I did all right on them."
"You did an excellent job
on those," said Operetta.
"You're already well into
the intermediate range of
first aid skills, so if there's
an emergency, you can help."
"I don't have much left from
the supplies I stole," said Yarro.
"Here, take these," said Operetta,
and passed her a big metal box and
a small canvas bag with straps. "Put
the box in your quarters; it has gear
for messy injuries. Carry the bag; it's
got supplies for minor complaints."
Yarro immediately strapped on
the bag, then put the box beside
her feet, out of the way. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," said Operetta.
"We need all the medics we can get,
so we're lucky to have you here."
"You really think I can learn this?"
said Yarro. "I've always wanted to,
but my teachers before told me that
it'd be too hard for someone like me.
They insisted that I should choose
something suited to my nature."
"Did it feel hard, when you were
studying it earlier?" said Operetta.
"No," said Yarro. "It was easier
than most of the other subjects."
"Then those teachers were
just full of static," said Operetta.
A giggle burst out before Yarro
could catch it. "Sorry," she said.
"I guess that was mean of me."
"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it
living someone else’s life," said Operetta.
"Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living
with the results of other people’s thinking.
Don’t let the noise of others' opinions
drown out your own inner voice."
"How do I do that?" Yarro asked.
"I've never had much opportunity
to listen to myself, over other people
shouting what they want me to be or do."
"Most importantly, have the courage
to follow your heart and intuition,"
Operetta said, looking at Yarro.
"They somehow already know
what you truly want to become.
Everything else is secondary."
"Even though I'm not perfect
at it?" Yarro whispered.
"Nobody is perfect, and
no place is perfect either,"
said Operetta. "Look around,
though -- it's better than Epizygis."
"Anywhere would be better
than Epizygis," Yarro muttered.
"Exactly," said Operetta. "That's
how we felt about the Galactic Arms,
you know, and why we created
the Lacuna as an alternative."
"I like it here," said Yarro.
"Nobody tries to tell me
what I'm supposed to be."
"You know that better than
anyone else," said Operetta.
"So it's just a matter of filling in
the gaps in your knowledge,
then practicing the skills."
"I'd like that," said Yarro.
"I want to be a medic, and
you need medics, so we fit."
"Good," said Operetta, and
handed her a tablet computer.
"These are some lessons that
I think would suit you. Definitely
begin with both Anatomy for Medics
and Introduction to Space Injuries, but
pick a couple others that interest you."
"I'll take Basic Medical Equipment
and Coping in a Crisis," said Yarro.
"All of it sounds interesting, though!"
"Excellent," said Operetta. "You start
working on those, and I'll assemble
materials for some practical lessons
after you've read the first chapters."
Yarro opened Anatomy for Medics
and settled down to start reading.
Life in the Lacuna may not be perfect,
but it was getting better every day.
* * *
Notes:
"Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown your own inner voice. Most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
- Steve Jobs
"Follow Your Heart and Intuition"
Yarro felt nervous and excited --
mostly excited by the opportunity,
but still nervous from the pressure.
She desperately wanted to do well
so that Operetta would keep her,
but she knew that her knowledge
of health care was limited at best.
Yarro had read all about how Operetta
had worked out a balanced diet with
Sam the Gardener, and later assembled
a working hospital -- small, but effective --
from derelict sickbays in the Sargasso
with some help from the Minotaur.
The hospital in Sargasso Base wasn't
fancy, but it was still enough to handle
the Lacuna's current needs, and that
was much more than Yarro had ever
gotten to work with back at Epizygis.
Yarro tucked a lock of white hair
behind her ear and tried not to fidget.
Operetta just pushed a box of
stress balls toward her and said,
"Go ahead and exercise your hands
while I read what Darmid sent me."
Yarro picked up a squishy ball and
squeezed it between her hands.
That helped her relax a little.
Presently Operetta looked up
from the tablet computer. "Tell me
about why you're here," she said.
"Well ... I wanted to be a medic, and
I studied what first aid I could, but people
on Epizygis wouldn't let me keep learning,"
said Yarro. "Tink 001 was nice, though, and
showed me Ravenskull's medical station."
Operetta chuckled. "That ship watches over
humans like a rat with just one pup left."
"Tink 001 said that Ravenskull lost
its pilot, so I can see why it would
want to be ... careful," Yarro replied.
"That's true," said Operetta. "What
about your past? Will that affect
your studies here and now?"
"I don't know," said Yarro.
"I don't think so? I crochet
to relax, and keep my fingers
busy. Darmid found some tests
on medical knowledge, and then
gave me lessons to round out
what I had already learned.
I think I did all right on them."
"You did an excellent job
on those," said Operetta.
"You're already well into
the intermediate range of
first aid skills, so if there's
an emergency, you can help."
"I don't have much left from
the supplies I stole," said Yarro.
"Here, take these," said Operetta,
and passed her a big metal box and
a small canvas bag with straps. "Put
the box in your quarters; it has gear
for messy injuries. Carry the bag; it's
got supplies for minor complaints."
Yarro immediately strapped on
the bag, then put the box beside
her feet, out of the way. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," said Operetta.
"We need all the medics we can get,
so we're lucky to have you here."
"You really think I can learn this?"
said Yarro. "I've always wanted to,
but my teachers before told me that
it'd be too hard for someone like me.
They insisted that I should choose
something suited to my nature."
"Did it feel hard, when you were
studying it earlier?" said Operetta.
"No," said Yarro. "It was easier
than most of the other subjects."
"Then those teachers were
just full of static," said Operetta.
A giggle burst out before Yarro
could catch it. "Sorry," she said.
"I guess that was mean of me."
"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it
living someone else’s life," said Operetta.
"Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living
with the results of other people’s thinking.
Don’t let the noise of others' opinions
drown out your own inner voice."
"How do I do that?" Yarro asked.
"I've never had much opportunity
to listen to myself, over other people
shouting what they want me to be or do."
"Most importantly, have the courage
to follow your heart and intuition,"
Operetta said, looking at Yarro.
"They somehow already know
what you truly want to become.
Everything else is secondary."
"Even though I'm not perfect
at it?" Yarro whispered.
"Nobody is perfect, and
no place is perfect either,"
said Operetta. "Look around,
though -- it's better than Epizygis."
"Anywhere would be better
than Epizygis," Yarro muttered.
"Exactly," said Operetta. "That's
how we felt about the Galactic Arms,
you know, and why we created
the Lacuna as an alternative."
"I like it here," said Yarro.
"Nobody tries to tell me
what I'm supposed to be."
"You know that better than
anyone else," said Operetta.
"So it's just a matter of filling in
the gaps in your knowledge,
then practicing the skills."
"I'd like that," said Yarro.
"I want to be a medic, and
you need medics, so we fit."
"Good," said Operetta, and
handed her a tablet computer.
"These are some lessons that
I think would suit you. Definitely
begin with both Anatomy for Medics
and Introduction to Space Injuries, but
pick a couple others that interest you."
"I'll take Basic Medical Equipment
and Coping in a Crisis," said Yarro.
"All of it sounds interesting, though!"
"Excellent," said Operetta. "You start
working on those, and I'll assemble
materials for some practical lessons
after you've read the first chapters."
Yarro opened Anatomy for Medics
and settled down to start reading.
Life in the Lacuna may not be perfect,
but it was getting better every day.
* * *
Notes:
"Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown your own inner voice. Most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
- Steve Jobs