Poetry Corner: Grand Mere Bay
Okay, here's another poem from my transhuman setting. It is, I hope, a gentle parody of Kipling's lyrical poem "Mandalay." A week or so ago I happened to listen to a CD that Tim Ryan was good enough to transfer from a tape I purchased over a decade ago, the late Bill Maraschiello's Magnetic Elixir. Bill performed Kipling's "Mandalay" and his performance inspired me to filk it ...
These lyrics pertain to a transhuman setting time-frame in the late 23rd through 24th centuries. Most descendents of humans (transhumans) live out in space settlements or elsewhere in the Solar System; and almost no transhumans are left on earth. Those who are on earth are either tourists, a very few grandfathered-in legal residents, or are members of crews staying on tours of duty or temporarily for commercial reasons. Genetic engineered folk (who are technically not transhumans) are the permanent inhabitants of earth. Other than for the above reasons, habitation by a transhuman on earth (other than in death) is forbidden by treaty. (The reverse is also true: non-transhumans are not permitted to permanently stay in space settlements.) Because of this formal sundering, I hope that I've maintained the yearning tone of the original song.
The allusions to mythical creatures is intentional, although the "centaurs" and "mermaids" mentioned in the lyrics are similar to; but not exactly like those of classical myth and folklore. The folkloric "beanstalk" refers to one of three permanent centripetally counterweighted synchronous Earth orbit lift mechanisms, this one located in South America.
Grand Mere Bay
by David Alway with apologies to Rudyard Kipling
By the ancient Field Museum,1 lookin' eastward to the sea,2
There's a gee-ee'd3 girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o' me;
For the wind is in the fir-trees, and the harness bells they say:
"Come you back, you Solar Sailor; come you back to Grand Mere Bay!"
Come you back to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the humans once did stay:4
Can't you hear their voices echo from Detroit to Grand Mere Bay?
On the way to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the merfolk leap and play,
An' the beanstalk5 shoots black lightning up through noontime 'crost the Bay!
Her centaur's flanks was golden an' two-dozen legs was green,
An' 'er name was Sippi Lyr-ah6-jus' the same as Vesta's Queen,7
An' I seed her first a-fartin' with a whackin' white galoot,8
An' a-wastin' all her kisses on some former human's foot:
Pree-tend god of flesh and blood!-
Not as good as one of mud!-
Plucky lot she cared for that one when I kissed 'er where she stud!9
On the way to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the merfolk leap and play,
An' the beanstalk shoots black lightning up through noontime 'crost the Bay!
When the mist was on the for-est an' the sun was droppin' slow,
She'd git 'er great old harp out an' she'd sing "Kulla-lo-lo!"10
Wi' me butt upon her shoulder an' her cheek agin' my cheek
We used to watch lake steamers an' Sleipniran's pilin' teak.
Pilin' hyper oak and teak11
In the sludgy, squdgy creek,
Where the silence hung so heavy you was half afraid to speak!
On the way to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the merfolk leap and play,
An' the beanstalk shoots black lightning up through noontime 'crost the Bay!
But that's all thrust be'ind me - long ago an' far away,
An' there ain't no shuttles runnin' from the Kyl to Grand Mere Bay;12
An' I'm learnin' here in Troy Kyl what the score-year sailor tells:
"If you've heard the Earth a-callin', you won't never heed naught else."
No! you won't heed nothin' else
But them musty soily smells,
An' the sunshine an' the fir-trees an' the tinkly harness-bells;
On the way to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the merfolk leap and play,
An' the beanstalk shoots black lightning up through noontime 'crost the Bay!
I am sick of growin' callouses checklisting safety boats,13
An' the blasted thin dry canned air wakes the coughing in my throat;14
Tho' I float with fifty grease-girls out the end-cap 'long the strand,15
An' they talks a lot of lovin', but wot do they understand?
Skinny face an' sixteen hands-
Oh, what do they understands?
I've a sweeter, leggy maiden in a cleaner, greener land!
On the way to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the merfolk leap and play,
An' the beanstalk shoots black lightning up through noontime 'crost the Bay!
Ship me down below the Blue Haze16, where your best will never fail,
Where there ain't un-eas-y wantings, an' a girl can grow a tail;17
For the harness-bells are callin', an' it's there that I would be-
By the ancient Field Museum, looking at fresh-water sea;
On the way to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the ancient humans lay,
Air so thick beneath our awnings18 when we went to Grand Mere Bay!
On the way to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the merfolk leap and play,
An' the beanstalk shoots black lightning up through noontime 'crost the Bay!
Notes:
1. The Field Museum of Natural History building, in the Chicago Parks district and near Lake Michigan.
2. What is now called Lake Michigan.
3. genetically engineered
4. where original humans lived
5. The beanstalk mentioned here is the "South American" or "Andean" beanstalk used by New World emigrants to leave earth to the solar system settlements. Amid panicked bursts of emigration, transhumans began leaving in a steady stream starting with its completion in the early 22nd century. Earth was nearly completely depopulated sometime in the 23rd century. The beanstalk is now used for commercial purposes: shipping of goods, human burial (in the mode of Simak's Cemetery World), tourism, and the occasional "shore leave." Note that "Grand Mere Bay" is not on standard time.
6. Sippi Elyria is (part of) the girl's actual name (the remainder is compounded from her parent's names and her birthdate). She is a 24-legged "trisleipnirian" centauress, the same as Madison in "Madison's Mourning" only with a golden body with green "points" (head hair, mane, tail and leg feathers).
7. Vesta here refers to the name of the space-settlement (manufacturing kyl-cluster) near the asteroid by that name. Vesta's reproductive queen's name is actually just Elyria (of Vesta). Elyria is a very popular girl's name both among transhumans and genetically engineered folk at the time.
8. socializing with a huge white-haired Sleipnirian (eight-legged) stallion centaur.
9. paying obeisance with one of the few transhuman legal residents of Earth (who are respected as if they were godlike), Sippi Elyria obviously transfered her affections to the singer of the song rather quickly, although it is not clear how he managed to "kiss her where she stud" - as most transhumans can walk erect underneath a standing sleipnirian centaur.
10. Sippi Elyria probably inherited her harp from a distant ancestor, which she skillfully plays with her hands as she sings, as all greater centaurs are highly musical.
11. where it is not wild, this part of Earth is mainly a climate-controled agricultural forest. Hyper oak and (hyper) teak are specially grown genetically-engineered fine woods for making premium furniture and surfaces, and are exported to the rest of the solar system.
12. space shuttles cannot land on Earth. The kyl (from the Greek kyleindros, or cylinder) is Troy Kyl Cluster, a space settlement in Jovian orbit circling a Trojan point. Troy Kyl is a major transhuman settlement with millions of inhabitants.
13. the singer's job now is a safety inspector, probably testing emergency escape pods (boats)
14. the air in a space settlement is lower-pressure and contains a higher percentage of oxygen than on Earth. Although the humidity is supposedly controlled, in many interior work areas, the air does get very dry. "canned air" is a sour pun, refering to the space settlement as a "can".
15. "end-cap" is either end of a space-settlement "kyl" or cylinder. The "strand" is a wire or cable that runs from end-cap to end-cap, marking the zero-force line of the rotating kyl. The singer is complaining that he's consorted with a number of "grease-girls" (transhuman women working in kyl maintenance) and not one of these thin sixteen-handed transhuman women understand him.
16. the Earth's atmosphere, or blue haze, more-or-less rhymes with "Suez" in the original Kipling.
17. almost all transhumans have tails, which tend to grow profligately when the possessor is free from worry or strain.
18. Earth atmospheric pressure is generally a good deal higher than that in spaceships or space settlements. Transhumans who have lived all their lives in enclosed quarters are often spooked by the open outdoor space of Earth, so tend to retreat under awnings to allay their agoraphobia.
Image of either end of a 24-legged draft centaur girl drawn by twospotz
These lyrics pertain to a transhuman setting time-frame in the late 23rd through 24th centuries. Most descendents of humans (transhumans) live out in space settlements or elsewhere in the Solar System; and almost no transhumans are left on earth. Those who are on earth are either tourists, a very few grandfathered-in legal residents, or are members of crews staying on tours of duty or temporarily for commercial reasons. Genetic engineered folk (who are technically not transhumans) are the permanent inhabitants of earth. Other than for the above reasons, habitation by a transhuman on earth (other than in death) is forbidden by treaty. (The reverse is also true: non-transhumans are not permitted to permanently stay in space settlements.) Because of this formal sundering, I hope that I've maintained the yearning tone of the original song.
The allusions to mythical creatures is intentional, although the "centaurs" and "mermaids" mentioned in the lyrics are similar to; but not exactly like those of classical myth and folklore. The folkloric "beanstalk" refers to one of three permanent centripetally counterweighted synchronous Earth orbit lift mechanisms, this one located in South America.
Grand Mere Bay
by David Alway with apologies to Rudyard Kipling
By the ancient Field Museum,1 lookin' eastward to the sea,2
There's a gee-ee'd3 girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o' me;
For the wind is in the fir-trees, and the harness bells they say:
"Come you back, you Solar Sailor; come you back to Grand Mere Bay!"
Come you back to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the humans once did stay:4
Can't you hear their voices echo from Detroit to Grand Mere Bay?
On the way to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the merfolk leap and play,
An' the beanstalk5 shoots black lightning up through noontime 'crost the Bay!
Her centaur's flanks was golden an' two-dozen legs was green,
An' 'er name was Sippi Lyr-ah6-jus' the same as Vesta's Queen,7
An' I seed her first a-fartin' with a whackin' white galoot,8
An' a-wastin' all her kisses on some former human's foot:
Pree-tend god of flesh and blood!-
Not as good as one of mud!-
Plucky lot she cared for that one when I kissed 'er where she stud!9
On the way to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the merfolk leap and play,
An' the beanstalk shoots black lightning up through noontime 'crost the Bay!
When the mist was on the for-est an' the sun was droppin' slow,
She'd git 'er great old harp out an' she'd sing "Kulla-lo-lo!"10
Wi' me butt upon her shoulder an' her cheek agin' my cheek
We used to watch lake steamers an' Sleipniran's pilin' teak.
Pilin' hyper oak and teak11
In the sludgy, squdgy creek,
Where the silence hung so heavy you was half afraid to speak!
On the way to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the merfolk leap and play,
An' the beanstalk shoots black lightning up through noontime 'crost the Bay!
But that's all thrust be'ind me - long ago an' far away,
An' there ain't no shuttles runnin' from the Kyl to Grand Mere Bay;12
An' I'm learnin' here in Troy Kyl what the score-year sailor tells:
"If you've heard the Earth a-callin', you won't never heed naught else."
No! you won't heed nothin' else
But them musty soily smells,
An' the sunshine an' the fir-trees an' the tinkly harness-bells;
On the way to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the merfolk leap and play,
An' the beanstalk shoots black lightning up through noontime 'crost the Bay!
I am sick of growin' callouses checklisting safety boats,13
An' the blasted thin dry canned air wakes the coughing in my throat;14
Tho' I float with fifty grease-girls out the end-cap 'long the strand,15
An' they talks a lot of lovin', but wot do they understand?
Skinny face an' sixteen hands-
Oh, what do they understands?
I've a sweeter, leggy maiden in a cleaner, greener land!
On the way to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the merfolk leap and play,
An' the beanstalk shoots black lightning up through noontime 'crost the Bay!
Ship me down below the Blue Haze16, where your best will never fail,
Where there ain't un-eas-y wantings, an' a girl can grow a tail;17
For the harness-bells are callin', an' it's there that I would be-
By the ancient Field Museum, looking at fresh-water sea;
On the way to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the ancient humans lay,
Air so thick beneath our awnings18 when we went to Grand Mere Bay!
On the way to Grand Mere Bay,
Where the merfolk leap and play,
An' the beanstalk shoots black lightning up through noontime 'crost the Bay!
Notes:
1. The Field Museum of Natural History building, in the Chicago Parks district and near Lake Michigan.
2. What is now called Lake Michigan.
3. genetically engineered
4. where original humans lived
5. The beanstalk mentioned here is the "South American" or "Andean" beanstalk used by New World emigrants to leave earth to the solar system settlements. Amid panicked bursts of emigration, transhumans began leaving in a steady stream starting with its completion in the early 22nd century. Earth was nearly completely depopulated sometime in the 23rd century. The beanstalk is now used for commercial purposes: shipping of goods, human burial (in the mode of Simak's Cemetery World), tourism, and the occasional "shore leave." Note that "Grand Mere Bay" is not on standard time.
6. Sippi Elyria is (part of) the girl's actual name (the remainder is compounded from her parent's names and her birthdate). She is a 24-legged "trisleipnirian" centauress, the same as Madison in "Madison's Mourning" only with a golden body with green "points" (head hair, mane, tail and leg feathers).
7. Vesta here refers to the name of the space-settlement (manufacturing kyl-cluster) near the asteroid by that name. Vesta's reproductive queen's name is actually just Elyria (of Vesta). Elyria is a very popular girl's name both among transhumans and genetically engineered folk at the time.
8. socializing with a huge white-haired Sleipnirian (eight-legged) stallion centaur.
9. paying obeisance with one of the few transhuman legal residents of Earth (who are respected as if they were godlike), Sippi Elyria obviously transfered her affections to the singer of the song rather quickly, although it is not clear how he managed to "kiss her where she stud" - as most transhumans can walk erect underneath a standing sleipnirian centaur.
10. Sippi Elyria probably inherited her harp from a distant ancestor, which she skillfully plays with her hands as she sings, as all greater centaurs are highly musical.
11. where it is not wild, this part of Earth is mainly a climate-controled agricultural forest. Hyper oak and (hyper) teak are specially grown genetically-engineered fine woods for making premium furniture and surfaces, and are exported to the rest of the solar system.
12. space shuttles cannot land on Earth. The kyl (from the Greek kyleindros, or cylinder) is Troy Kyl Cluster, a space settlement in Jovian orbit circling a Trojan point. Troy Kyl is a major transhuman settlement with millions of inhabitants.
13. the singer's job now is a safety inspector, probably testing emergency escape pods (boats)
14. the air in a space settlement is lower-pressure and contains a higher percentage of oxygen than on Earth. Although the humidity is supposedly controlled, in many interior work areas, the air does get very dry. "canned air" is a sour pun, refering to the space settlement as a "can".
15. "end-cap" is either end of a space-settlement "kyl" or cylinder. The "strand" is a wire or cable that runs from end-cap to end-cap, marking the zero-force line of the rotating kyl. The singer is complaining that he's consorted with a number of "grease-girls" (transhuman women working in kyl maintenance) and not one of these thin sixteen-handed transhuman women understand him.
16. the Earth's atmosphere, or blue haze, more-or-less rhymes with "Suez" in the original Kipling.
17. almost all transhumans have tails, which tend to grow profligately when the possessor is free from worry or strain.
18. Earth atmospheric pressure is generally a good deal higher than that in spaceships or space settlements. Transhumans who have lived all their lives in enclosed quarters are often spooked by the open outdoor space of Earth, so tend to retreat under awnings to allay their agoraphobia.
Image of either end of a 24-legged draft centaur girl drawn by twospotz