Poem: "A Catalog of Flaws"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem is spillover from the March 6, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by minor_architect, meeksp, kelkyag, eseme, mdlbear, and rix_scaedu.  Based on an audience poll, it has been sponsored out of the general fund.  You can read more about the series Sort Of Heroes on the Serial Poetry page.

Comments

[janetmiles]

That's an awesome poem -- what people said and did, what they *didn't* say and do, and the kindnesses in both sets of choices.

Thank you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm glad you enjoyed this so much.

I think it's interesting to watch the tension over what is good or right or necessary, and the choices characters make in this storyline. Sometimes it's the little things that tip the balance.

[kelkyag]

Glad this got published! Taro and Hicket may make an interesting contrast to Nib and Brod, in their oddly balanced world.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Glad this got published! <<

Thank you! That's everything currently written for Sort Of Heroes.

>> Taro and Hicket may make an interesting contrast to Nib and Brod, in their oddly balanced world. <<

They do, in a way. It will be fun to see if they manage to help stabilize the situation. I think there's more to Taro and Hicket than meets the eye.

[eseme]

And another one!

When I read the sequel, I was thinking "I am sure I have read the other poem about the clerk" but since it was unpublished I didn't want to brag.

I am glad both are out. I also like the symmetry between these two pairs of sort-of-heroes...

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>When I read the sequel, I was thinking "I am sure I have read the other poem about the clerk" but since it was unpublished I didn't want to brag.<<

Yeah, I forgot about the sequencing of poems in this subplot, because the original prompt was specific but had come from someone who'd gotten a backchannel copy. I won't rule that out for future reference, but I'll try to be more careful about accounting for it in poem sales.

>>I am glad both are out.<<

Me too!

>> I also like the symmetry between these two pairs of sort-of-heroes...<<

I only noticed after the fact that each had a human and a nonhuman half in the pairing. They're all trying to navigate the moral whitewater. I think it's interesting that Taro is a clerk rather than a peasant -- he's quite sharp -- and Hicket is almost human. So some of the experiences will likely parallel while others diverge.