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Min-review of "Stargazer Lily"  [E] by Lou-Here By His Grace  Nice little poem in aabb rhyme. It has rhythm although I stumbled and would love to hear the poet read it. Yes, it is poetic but like much verse that depends on rhyme in English the syntax becomes tortured. I could be re-thought with normal word-order and made to flow like free verse. The form keeps it bound to a 4.0. Also, anyone who has been within 3 meters of this lily knows its fragrance and unfortunately that has been left out by focusing on only one sense: sight. It does bloom with full sun but it's also fragrant at night. Prompt: Have you ever gazed at the stars? What were your thoughts? I grew up with quite a bit of light pollution that only got worse as Americans thought that the deterrent to crime was mega-watts banishing the night. Ah... seems that the crimes that occurred at noon didn't frighten folks as much. We were robbed of the night. In February I would walk home after basketball games and look up to Orion. But Orion shone bright. I had heard of the Milky Way but seldom if ever saw it. When I went to college in a small town, the night sky had stars! Quelle surprise! The real shocker though was sitting alone one night on the beach in Manuel Antonio in Costa Rica with nothing between me and The Philippines. I remember the Southern Cross. I remember the sound of the waves. I remember being overcome by Nothingness. Constellation of the Ox "It looks like you!" Gomo was laughing. Commander Tom almost smiled. There were right. Except for the ears. Four is better than two; eight is better than four. The more the merrier my people would often say as I rambled away. It's too hard to hear when everyone speaks at the same time. No one understood how painful noise can be for someone who hears everything. I always preferred quiet. I never felt one-with-the-herd. "What will you call that constellation?" "The Ox," I replied. "Doesn't look as smart as me." That shut them up. I kept a special folder of so-called constellations. Those space-born didn't understand how we planet-born looked up to the multitude of shiny objects in the sky and gave them names. In the Void everything changed day-to-day. It was mesmerizing to see the "Blue Warrior" transform into "Naked Lady". I kept track as Engineers and Day Commanders laughed. The Wings were amused even if they didn't understand me. Naming the placement of the stars had absolutely no value for navigation. They would never be in the exact same place with the exact same view ever again. The Xenos... they understood and said nothing in public. Kat, Cook, Gomo, 90210... Kat was pleasantly dreaming and 90210 was asleep. Gomo looked through me: "What do you think?" "Commander Tom is loosening up." Gomo snorted. As a fellow Kla he knew better. "As funny as Quip!" I laughed but Cook cut me off. "I wonder how Quip is doing." We sat there slurping until Cook decide we needed some stimulant to keep us awake. Gomo liked the bitter taste of coffee. Not me! I was fond of Gqarian tea. "Quip knew Jindal before. Knew him quite well. It was a shock when he figured that out." Cook spoke quietly. "No. He didn't quite tell me. I figured it out." "That yxworm." I nodded as Gomo continued. "We Xenos learn from observation, but even we can be blind." "Or deaf." Cook didn't need to add more. Unlike some in my family, I was quite aware of my faults and short-comings. "What have you learned by making notes on what 'constellations' we see." Few understood my role as chronicler. They thought my journals were for amusement or for future historians. Cook knew better. Kat knew better. Gomo's eyes widened in acknowledgment. "We see what we want to see. It's a way of expressing what we don't always say directly. It reveals much to those who can discern the pattern." "And 'The Ox'?" "It means that I'm being seen." "And what does that mean?" "It's a blessing and a curse to be invisible. My work is best done under the cloak of others ignorance." Gomo and Cook both nodded. "And now?" "It's impossible to hide from empaths! And Kat. Kat knew before I did." "But you aren't human." "Kat knows more than she shares." We all sipped quietly. "I'm becoming accepted." "And One-with-home." Kat had snuck in. "You woke me from my dreams. I need some soup." We sat there for hours. Kat was enigmatic as always but she did say that I was on a good path. And that felt good. To see patterns when others could not. To hear what others revealed by tone of voice or the slippage of a word. To be accepted. Home was becoming home... although, what Kat meant by her remark niggles at my brain. Even Cook seems to be aware that all is not being shared. Gomo was clueless. Oh, to be clueless! And happy. Gomo was happy. That too had not been obvious to me. And he was fast becoming a friend. The Cloak of Ignorance I can deny who I am and be loved, or I can share who I am and be shunned. Gomo and Kat left to take naps. It's so important for all of us to be alert when ready. It was the purpose of Night and Day crews and the schedules kept to make sure we were operating at a safe capacity at all times. It wasn't as if we could just sleep through the night and play by day. Fortunately with our diverse crew everyone didn't live on the same rhythms. Cook seemed to never sleep. "I'm good with a short nap," he told anyone who bothered to ask and Kat mostly dreamed. She seemed so harmless when she kept to herself. Our rhythms changed when we were at Home. The Landers especially noticed this. And guests who were mostly planet-bound found it hard to adjust as well. That first star-year was hard for me and most new-comers. Cook had explained it all when I first arrived with in his own enigmatic way. "Drink this and finish your soup and I'll try to explain." Of course, I listened without understanding. I now know that the soup was his way of helping my body and mind to adjust. Oh, others suspect as much, but my ears hear what others can't see, touch or taste. I wasn't surprised to ascertain that he even manipulated smells and fragrances! I'm awed at his talent. Today we sat in a moment of silence, enjoying the lull. Scarlett flew in and alighted. Cook read the twirling eyes, laughed and went for a bowl. She squeaked piteously. Too much what? I almost laughed too. So easy to think small means insignificant or that large and plodding means unintelligent. 90210 once talked to us about this mythical creature called an elephant. Large, slow, and more intelligent than humans in many ways. Word was that they still existed. The Void is a very big place. "You're not invisible to me," I said out loud. Scarlett stopped squeaking. "And next time take it easy." Eyes whirled in dismay. "Yes, I can understand you if it's very quiet." "But do you truly understand?" It was Cook with a small thimble of a bowl. Scarlett alighted and quietly sucked. "Not everything." "I don't mean whether you can hear but whether you understand." Chagrined, I nodded. "Very little. I'm learning that each specie has a drive to survive but that individuals may have other needs." Scarlett chirped. Cook smiled. "I can't hear Scarlett like you can but I understand wants and needs, except maybe my own." Scarlett fluttered her wings in a gesture of thanks and flew off. I looked at Cook intensely. "I am still puzzled as to who and what you are. You're everywhere you're needed before others even know their needs. Most call you Cook without even remembering your name. You become ever-present and invisible at the same time. It's as if you do not wish to be known." Cook got up to the sound of a musical alarm. "Please drink this," he calmly asked as he set down a cup. "It will help you forget." I drank it all with gusto. I write this down later fully aware that whatever I needed to forget has been erased, sure that the Cloak of Ignorance would be lifted at the proper time. One can trust Cook. That was all that I truly remember. 3,260 |
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