Poem: "All the Blessings of the Season"
This poem came out of the May 16, 2023 Bonus Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from . It also fills the "treats" square in my 5-1-23 card for the Pets and Animals Bingo fest. It has been sponsored by Dreamwidth user Fuzzyred. This poem belongs to the Shiv thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
"All the Blessings of the Season"
[Saturday, December 17, 2016]
The third weekend in December
was the Winter Festival at Hanson Hall,
since it fell between Mawlid al-Nabi on
the twelfth and later the overlap of
Christmas and Chanukah.
The Canteen was serving
holiday treats, different kinds
every day, from red candy hearts
and honey cookies for Mawlid to
white chocolate peppermint cookies
and pecan snowballs for Christmas
to applesauce doughnuts and
apricot rugelach for Chanukah.
Coexist Community Kitchen
had lessons every day where you
could learn about holiday baking.
Shiv had already caught the ones
on making sticky apple date cake,
gingerbread, and tzimmes cake.
Ella's Arts and Crafts Emporium had
supplies in everyone's holiday colors.
Both Global Hope Gift Shop and
the Gallery had winter-themed gifts,
ornaments, and other decorations.
The Tikkun Olam Collective was
organizing the Jewish activities.
Fuck Yeah Loaves and Fishes
had food drives going all over, while
the Buddy Christ Church and Bong Shop
offered their space for interfaith events.
All Life Is Precious had organized
a live crèche staffed by refugees
from the Big One, since after all
the Holy Family were refugees.
The Holistic Health Center had
booked a "holiday haven" room
on each floor for relaxation.
The Community Arts Space
and studios were teaching
all kinds of holiday crafts.
There had been a class on
how to turn frit into snowflakes
using a mold, then how to make
a platter with the snowflakes;
and another about putting
foil shapes on dichroic glass.
Shiv had given himself
a raging headache on
both days, but it was
totally worth the trouble
for the gorgeous platter
and earrings he made.
Trying to move silver leaf
with tweezers instead of
superpowers was ridiculous,
so he just used his gifts.
The Makeba Music Center
was teaching holiday songs,
and the dance studios were
demonstrating the dances.
Shiv had already caught
one holiday jazz jam session
that had been awesome.
This month, it seemed like
every day brought new events
to the community bulletin boards.
Shiv was trying to be sensible
about it all, he really was.
He'd melted down before
at holidays, and it sucked.
He didn't need that again.
There was just so much
interesting stuff going on
this year, stuff he'd really
like to do for a change, that
it was hard to remember he
needed to take breaks for
personal peace and quiet.
Today the worship room at
Buddy Christ Church and
Bong Shop was hosting
an interfaith presentation.
Shiv wasn't religious at all, but
he was still ... curious what it might
sound like in a church that didn't suck.
Besides, he knew most of the folks
in Hanson Hall, and they got along
pretty well despite them coming
from all different traditions.
They wouldn't pick on him
like people had before.
Well, probably not.
Shiv slipped into
the back of the room,
so he could escape
easily if it got too much.
He had to admit that
the worship room was
beautiful, softly glowing
with holiday lights projected
across the walls and ceiling.
Duman Leafley, who served
as the interfaith chaplain for
the Buddy Christ Church, stood
on the stage flanked by Akiva
from the Tikkun Olam Collective
and the jeweler Turkina Faas, who
led the Muslim women's prayer group.
"This December, we celebrate that
the birth of Jesus and the birth of
Muhammad (peace be upon them)
fall in the same month, and so does
the first night of Chanukah," said Duman.
"So we wish our friends, of whatever faith
or worldview, all the blessings of the season,
and in particular the birth of new hope for
their lives and for all lives around the world."
Akiva stepped forward to say, "For Jews,
Chanukah celebrates the freedom and
justice without which there can be
no genuine peace. May all people
in the world live free in a just society."
"For Muslims, Muhammad (peace be
upon him) is the Messenger of Peace,"
said Turkina. "We hope that everyone
will hear that message in their own way."
"For Christians, Jesus is the Prince of Peace,"
said Duman. "Remember that he was born
an outcast and became an activist so that
all people could live gently together."
"May we embody the spirit of Rabbi Hillel,
who taught 'Do not judge your fellow
until you are in his place'," said Akiva.
"May we embody the spirit of Muhammad
to whom God said, 'We have sent you,
O Prophet, as none other than a mercy
to all the people of the world'," said Turkina.
"May we embody the spirit of Jesus who said,
'Blessed are the peacemakers'," said Duman.
"So may we all enter the coming year in a spirit
of peace and non-violence, with hearts open to
all -- including those with whom we disagree."
It went on like that for some time, as all three
alternated speaking from their own traditions,
but with a surprising amount of overlap.
Shiv hadn't realized how much they
actually had in common. Interesting.
He listened, and it wasn't creepy,
and he didn't feel compelled
to sneak out the back door.
He was glad when the event
finally came to an end, though.
The sparkly holiday lights that
had looked so pretty before were
starting to feel a bit too bright.
"Hey, are you okay?" Ahimsa said,
resting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm fine," Shiv said. "I'm just tired."
He didn't need anyone fussing over him.
"Fine?" Ahimsa replied. "If your face
gets any more wrinkled, someone
is going to mistake you for a date
and bake you into a holiday cake."
Shiv laughed in spite of himself,
and it echoed inside his skull,
making him notice how much
of a headache was building up.
He also realized that this situation
was rather like how his skin hunger
had increased a lot, but his tolerance
for contact hadn't grown as much.
He should probably do something
about that before this got worse.
"Okay, you maybe have a point,"
Shiv admitted with a sigh.
"Would you like to come back
to my place and help me
calm down some cats?"
Ahimsa suggested.
"You just want to get me
out of public so's I don't
explode," Shiv said.
"Well, that too,"
Ahimsa agreed
with a smile. "But
I really do need help
with the cats. They
don't like holidays and
they're freaking out."
Shiv had seen that
kind of thing before,
and it was not good.
"Yeah, okay," he said.
"I'll come help with the cats."
"Thanks, I appreciate this,"
Ahimsa said, and led the way.
Shiv followed him to the outbuilding
of the Dobutsu Kannon Temple of
Animal Care, which housed a variety
of small animals in need of help.
Ahimsa left him in a playroom
filled with anxious, jittery cats
and went to do paperwork.
Shiv understood how they felt.
Holidays could be overwhelming.
He flopped down on a pile of
sherpa blankets and propped
a pillow against the concrete wall.
Then he ignored the cats.
It didn't take long before
a standard-issue cat
came to sniff his shoes.
Then a black cat investigated
his hand in search of treats.
A calico minced her way
up his legs to curl on his lap.
The black-and-white cat
brought him a catnip mouse
that was starting to lose stuffing.
Shiv didn't mind. The grassy smell
was familiar and relaxing to him.
The blanket of cats on him got
bigger, and warmer, and purrier.
His headache faded away,
his nerves settled down, and
he stopped second-guessing
all of his holiday decisions.
Shiv opened his eyes --
when had he closed them? --
and checked the room.
There were no cats left
hiding in the corners or
pacing in circles now.
All the blessings of
the season were piled
peacefully around him,
purring their hearts out.
So Shiv took a cat nap too.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character and content notes will appear elsewhere.
"All the Blessings of the Season"
[Saturday, December 17, 2016]
The third weekend in December
was the Winter Festival at Hanson Hall,
since it fell between Mawlid al-Nabi on
the twelfth and later the overlap of
Christmas and Chanukah.
The Canteen was serving
holiday treats, different kinds
every day, from red candy hearts
and honey cookies for Mawlid to
white chocolate peppermint cookies
and pecan snowballs for Christmas
to applesauce doughnuts and
apricot rugelach for Chanukah.
Coexist Community Kitchen
had lessons every day where you
could learn about holiday baking.
Shiv had already caught the ones
on making sticky apple date cake,
gingerbread, and tzimmes cake.
Ella's Arts and Crafts Emporium had
supplies in everyone's holiday colors.
Both Global Hope Gift Shop and
the Gallery had winter-themed gifts,
ornaments, and other decorations.
The Tikkun Olam Collective was
organizing the Jewish activities.
Fuck Yeah Loaves and Fishes
had food drives going all over, while
the Buddy Christ Church and Bong Shop
offered their space for interfaith events.
All Life Is Precious had organized
a live crèche staffed by refugees
from the Big One, since after all
the Holy Family were refugees.
The Holistic Health Center had
booked a "holiday haven" room
on each floor for relaxation.
The Community Arts Space
and studios were teaching
all kinds of holiday crafts.
There had been a class on
how to turn frit into snowflakes
using a mold, then how to make
a platter with the snowflakes;
and another about putting
foil shapes on dichroic glass.
Shiv had given himself
a raging headache on
both days, but it was
totally worth the trouble
for the gorgeous platter
and earrings he made.
Trying to move silver leaf
with tweezers instead of
superpowers was ridiculous,
so he just used his gifts.
The Makeba Music Center
was teaching holiday songs,
and the dance studios were
demonstrating the dances.
Shiv had already caught
one holiday jazz jam session
that had been awesome.
This month, it seemed like
every day brought new events
to the community bulletin boards.
Shiv was trying to be sensible
about it all, he really was.
He'd melted down before
at holidays, and it sucked.
He didn't need that again.
There was just so much
interesting stuff going on
this year, stuff he'd really
like to do for a change, that
it was hard to remember he
needed to take breaks for
personal peace and quiet.
Today the worship room at
Buddy Christ Church and
Bong Shop was hosting
an interfaith presentation.
Shiv wasn't religious at all, but
he was still ... curious what it might
sound like in a church that didn't suck.
Besides, he knew most of the folks
in Hanson Hall, and they got along
pretty well despite them coming
from all different traditions.
They wouldn't pick on him
like people had before.
Well, probably not.
Shiv slipped into
the back of the room,
so he could escape
easily if it got too much.
He had to admit that
the worship room was
beautiful, softly glowing
with holiday lights projected
across the walls and ceiling.
Duman Leafley, who served
as the interfaith chaplain for
the Buddy Christ Church, stood
on the stage flanked by Akiva
from the Tikkun Olam Collective
and the jeweler Turkina Faas, who
led the Muslim women's prayer group.
"This December, we celebrate that
the birth of Jesus and the birth of
Muhammad (peace be upon them)
fall in the same month, and so does
the first night of Chanukah," said Duman.
"So we wish our friends, of whatever faith
or worldview, all the blessings of the season,
and in particular the birth of new hope for
their lives and for all lives around the world."
Akiva stepped forward to say, "For Jews,
Chanukah celebrates the freedom and
justice without which there can be
no genuine peace. May all people
in the world live free in a just society."
"For Muslims, Muhammad (peace be
upon him) is the Messenger of Peace,"
said Turkina. "We hope that everyone
will hear that message in their own way."
"For Christians, Jesus is the Prince of Peace,"
said Duman. "Remember that he was born
an outcast and became an activist so that
all people could live gently together."
"May we embody the spirit of Rabbi Hillel,
who taught 'Do not judge your fellow
until you are in his place'," said Akiva.
"May we embody the spirit of Muhammad
to whom God said, 'We have sent you,
O Prophet, as none other than a mercy
to all the people of the world'," said Turkina.
"May we embody the spirit of Jesus who said,
'Blessed are the peacemakers'," said Duman.
"So may we all enter the coming year in a spirit
of peace and non-violence, with hearts open to
all -- including those with whom we disagree."
It went on like that for some time, as all three
alternated speaking from their own traditions,
but with a surprising amount of overlap.
Shiv hadn't realized how much they
actually had in common. Interesting.
He listened, and it wasn't creepy,
and he didn't feel compelled
to sneak out the back door.
He was glad when the event
finally came to an end, though.
The sparkly holiday lights that
had looked so pretty before were
starting to feel a bit too bright.
"Hey, are you okay?" Ahimsa said,
resting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm fine," Shiv said. "I'm just tired."
He didn't need anyone fussing over him.
"Fine?" Ahimsa replied. "If your face
gets any more wrinkled, someone
is going to mistake you for a date
and bake you into a holiday cake."
Shiv laughed in spite of himself,
and it echoed inside his skull,
making him notice how much
of a headache was building up.
He also realized that this situation
was rather like how his skin hunger
had increased a lot, but his tolerance
for contact hadn't grown as much.
He should probably do something
about that before this got worse.
"Okay, you maybe have a point,"
Shiv admitted with a sigh.
"Would you like to come back
to my place and help me
calm down some cats?"
Ahimsa suggested.
"You just want to get me
out of public so's I don't
explode," Shiv said.
"Well, that too,"
Ahimsa agreed
with a smile. "But
I really do need help
with the cats. They
don't like holidays and
they're freaking out."
Shiv had seen that
kind of thing before,
and it was not good.
"Yeah, okay," he said.
"I'll come help with the cats."
"Thanks, I appreciate this,"
Ahimsa said, and led the way.
Shiv followed him to the outbuilding
of the Dobutsu Kannon Temple of
Animal Care, which housed a variety
of small animals in need of help.
Ahimsa left him in a playroom
filled with anxious, jittery cats
and went to do paperwork.
Shiv understood how they felt.
Holidays could be overwhelming.
He flopped down on a pile of
sherpa blankets and propped
a pillow against the concrete wall.
Then he ignored the cats.
It didn't take long before
a standard-issue cat
came to sniff his shoes.
Then a black cat investigated
his hand in search of treats.
A calico minced her way
up his legs to curl on his lap.
The black-and-white cat
brought him a catnip mouse
that was starting to lose stuffing.
Shiv didn't mind. The grassy smell
was familiar and relaxing to him.
The blanket of cats on him got
bigger, and warmer, and purrier.
His headache faded away,
his nerves settled down, and
he stopped second-guessing
all of his holiday decisions.
Shiv opened his eyes --
when had he closed them? --
and checked the room.
There were no cats left
hiding in the corners or
pacing in circles now.
All the blessings of
the season were piled
peacefully around him,
purring their hearts out.
So Shiv took a cat nap too.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character and content notes will appear elsewhere.