Poem: "The Girl He Brought Home"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem came out of the October 18, 2011 bonus fishbowl.  It was inspired by prompts from rix_scaedu and eseme.  It was sponsored by rix_scaedu.  "The Girl He Brought Home" belongs to the Monster House series and comes after " Not Mine."  You can find other poems in this series via the Serial Poetry page.

Comments

[aldersprig]

*grin*

Goood bogeyman!

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

He can be fierce at need, but underneath, I think he has a heart of solid chocolate.

I'm glad you liked this poem.

[kelkyag]

Indeed. I expect that "security blanket" is not in his usual job description. :)

One of the things I'd wondered about Melinda was whether she'd grow up a "normal" magic-oblivious human, or whether she'd turn out to be "family", as the daughter of the house described one of her friends. Answered! I do increasingly wonder, though, whether there is actually a substantial number of "normal" humans, or mostly an awful lot of people who don't talk to each other about the things they think are too weird for other people to believe.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Indeed. I expect that "security blanket" is not in his usual job description.<<

True. His usual job is all about being scary -- banging on pipes, eating the bad boys and girls, being one of the things that go bump in the night. That's part of his nature, the way the wolf is part of the woods. But he's a person, and he has free will. Although there are some constraints he can't or won't break, he can usually manage to ensure that justice gets done.

At home, he can let down his guard some and be himself, show the gentler side. Sometimes, though, somebody succeeds in pulling that out when he wasn't intending to show it. *chuckle* I bet that girl had him wrapped around her little finger before he was out the door of her parents' house.

>>One of the things I'd wondered about Melinda was whether she'd grow up a "normal" magic-oblivious human, or whether she'd turn out to be "family", as the daughter of the house described one of her friends. ... )

[ladymondegreen]

Yay! I was wondering when we'd see the baby girl again. I'm glad she grew up into someone who can be comfortable around animals and monsters. Hopefully people will be next.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Yay! I was wondering when we'd see the baby girl again.<<

I'm happy that you like this poem.

>> I'm glad she grew up into someone who can be comfortable around animals and monsters. Hopefully people will be next.<<

I think she is naturally a quiet person with an introverted personality. Add her rotten parents to that, and it's made her downright shy. But she does have a few friends, and her grandmother. She probably just picks her friends from people who don't constantly pester her to "participate."

[minor_architect]

I find the bogeyman particularly charming for someone who...eats?...people for a living. >;)

And Melinda hissing at the radiator dragon really cracked me up. I can only guess that the dragon was bemused by all the noise!

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>I find the bogeyman particularly charming for someone who...eats?...people for a living.<<

Fierce people can be unexpectedly gentle, and vice versa. What makes a monster is not how you look, or even the maximum level of mayhem you've caused, but how you choose to behave with people who are no threat to you.

>>And Melinda hissing at the radiator dragon really cracked me up. I can only guess that the dragon was bemused by all the noise!<<

Yay! I think the radiator dragon has gotten somewhat more gregarious over the years. He may still hide if he's startled, but he's also willing to come out and beg for food. And it's not like this is a quiet household. There's always something going on.

[fayanora]

For some reason, possibly the hissy noises and the talking to the boa constrictor, I'm imagining Merope Gaunt being rescued from her father and brother as a toddler, and Voldemort never getting born. :-)

Aww...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I just LOVE that image!

Yeah, little Tom would've had a much healthier development as a member of the Monster House family.

Re: Aww...

[fayanora]

Yeah, little Tom would've had a much healthier development as a member of the Monster House family.

Uh... I think I'll disagree with you on that point. I've read the Harry Potter books so many times, I have so much trivia about it memorized... remember, Tom Riddle was a very quiet baby. I don't remember all the words exactly, but basically Tom Riddle was born evil. Maybe he wouldn't have been *as* evil raised by his mother in the monster house neighborhood, but I think he would have been evil anyway. I prefer to imagine a Merope who never met Tom Riddle Senior.

Re: Aww...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Well, you're entitled to your interpretation.

I think that Voldemort was a combination of nature and nurture -- he had a dark potential, but then so did Harry, and frankly Wizarding Britain was insanely lucky that Harry didn't tell them to sod the hell off after what they did to him. Tom became Voldemort when he decided to hit back, and went too far with it. That's the seduction of the dark side, after all.

I see a lot of parallels between Tom Riddle and Anakin Skywalker, Voldemort and Darth Vader.

[aubergine_pilot]

This Bogeyman is such an adorable softie. And this makes the hurt of the two poems directly linked to it just the right amount of less raw, knowing she's got a good grandmother and the scariest "guardian angel" ever.

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> This Bogeyman is such an adorable softie. <<

Sharp and scary outside, with a heart of solid chocolate.

>> And this makes the hurt of the two poems directly linked to it just the right amount of less raw, knowing she's got a good grandmother and the scariest "guardian angel" ever. <<

Sometimes bad things happen, and they can't be fixed, but they can be dealt with in a way that lets people move on.