Poem: "The Simple Act of Caring"
This poem is spillover from the December 5, 2023 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from Dreamwidth user Librarygeek. It also fills the "I never asked you to do that." square in my 10-1-23 card for the Fall Fest Bingo. This poem belongs to the Big One thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
This microfunded poem is being posted one verse at a time, as donations come in to cover them. The rate is $0.50/line, so $5 will reveal 10 new lines, and so forth. There is a permanent donation button on my profile page, or you can contact me for other arrangements. You can also ask me about the number of lines per verse, if you want to fund a certain number of verses.
So far sponsors include: DW user Librarygeek,
445 lines, Buy It Now = $223
Amount donated = $112
Verses posted = 56 of 120
Amount remaining to fund fully = $111
Amount needed to fund next verse = $2.50
Amount needed to fund the verse after that = $2.50
"The Simple Act of Caring"
[Saturday, May 28, 2016 around 9:00 PM in Mercedes, California
bunker location unknown; clocks set to California time]
Bennett was exhausted.
It hadn't even been a full day
since the shattering earthquake
that everybody was calling
"the Big One," and he was
altogether worn out.
Bennett and Jules had
been out in San José
to attend a wedding.
If they had stayed in
Mercedes, they would've
been fine -- their hometown
had just a little shimmy.
San José had a 7.4 quake
that lasted 40 seconds.
Most buildings suffered
damage, and some of
them partly collapsed.
Bennett had gotten clear,
but Jules had been caught
under some of the rubble.
By the time Joshua had
found them, with a team of
rescuers to help, Bennett
had just about shredded
both of his hands and
hadn't even noticed.
Jules came out of it
with a broken right ankle
and sprained left ankle,
but insisted, "Business
as usual, I'm used to it."
"You shouldn't have to be
used to it," Bennett muttered,
but it was true that Jules had
grown up with all kinds of
minor-to-moderate injuries
from his own clumsiness.
So yeah, that was familiar
and they could cope with it.
Bennett had a brain weasel
trying to make him blame himself
for everything, and so he had to keep
stopping to refocus his thoughts on how
an earthquake was nobody's fault
and he could not possibly have
done any more than he did.
Still, things could have gone
a whole lot worse than they had.
Bennett and Jules had gotten
preferential treatment, not
because of severe injuries,
but because they were
Connected -- and Bennett
was a favored body artist
who needed his hands in
good condition to work.
They would still have
to wait their turn to see
a healer, which could take
days or even longer under
these circumstances, but
at least they would not have
to wait for everything to heal
naturally and hope for the best.
Meanwhile, a teleporter called
Handbasket had taken them
to the Kraken bunker where
Pips was babysitting the Tullets.
All of this had taken hours; it
was past supper California-time,
which is how the Can's clocks
were set since none of them
knew where they actually were.
Dylan, Isobel, and Michael
were playing together with
a fancy box of colorful blocks
while Griffin watched them.
Isobel and Michael were
making a fairy castle while
Dylan attempted to build
a playground for its people,
complete with teeter-totter.
Pips had handled Coventry
by the simple expedient of
asking him to look through
the bunker cookbook and find
something for them to make.
The boy was sitting on the floor,
earnestly examining the pictures
and trying to sound out the words.
Jules was stretched on the couch
with his feet propped on a pillow.
And drat it all, now Bennett
needed to use the bathroom.
As soon as he got up, though,
Pips moved to intercept him.
"I'm all right," Bennett said.
"You're here to take care
of the kids -- you don't
need to worry about me."
"I'm here to take care of
you too," Pips said softly.
"I never asked you to do that,"
Bennett said, shaking his head.
"Friends don't have to ask,"
Pips said. "I like to be useful."
"I'm a grownup, and I'm not
that badly injured," Bennett said.
"I can manage in the bathroom."
Pips lowered his voice even further.
"I know you're used to taking care of
yourself and everyone around you,
but right now you have open wounds
all over both hands. That makes
toileting by yourself beyond risky."
"But they're completely covered
in bandages," Bennett protested.
The medics had left the thumbs free,
but most of the fingers had been
bundled together under wrappings.
"We both know germs can get
through gauze, and even tape,"
Pips said. "Do you want to explain
to a healer why you needed to jump
the line because you got an infection?"
Bennett sighed. "No, other people
need it more, I can wait," he said.
"Then wait sensibly," said Pips.
"Let me help you. Also, think
about the example you're setting
for Jules, because I've told him
the same thing about you. That's
how I've convinced him to ask
someone to fetch things for him
instead of hobbling around himself."
Well, Bennett couldn't argue with
that one -- he know how important
it was to set a good example.
"All right, you win," he muttered.
The situation was awkward and
embarrassing, but at least he had
a friend to help him through it.
"What tone would you prefer?"
Pips said. "Clinical, submissive,
matter-of-fact, something else?
I can be whatever you need
in the present moment."
"Matter-of-fact, please,"
said Bennett. "I'm not sure
I could handle anything else."
"Okay," said Pips. "Here's
something to focus on other
than your body -- think about
how you feel right now, and
about how other folks feel
when you take care of them,
and how you can use that later."
"Easy for you to say, you're
not the one wrapped up like
a Christmas gift," said Bennett.
Pips chuckled. "You've helped
Joshua take care of me a time or
two after I got messed up at work,"
he said. "I'm a minion. Did you
think I never hurt my hands enough
to need help in the bathroom? It's
how I learned all the different ways
to take care of other people."
Dealing with the bathroom itself
was difficult, but they knew that
it would be, and they managed.
Bennett still felt weird having
someone else's hands where
his usually went, but it wasn't
the first time -- he'd done it in
his caregiver classes before.
Pips was gentle, efficient,
and practical. That made
an awkward situation, if not
comfortable, at least tolerable.
It helped that he was male.
Bennett wasn't fussy about
gender, but it was still nice.
He tried to keep his attention
on the emotions slopping around
inside him, so that he could help
other folks with similar situations
when he was caring for them later.
"Thanks for the tip about learning
from the experience," Bennett said
as Pips was washing his hands.
"You're welcome," said Pips. "It's
important for male caregivers to find
nonthreatening environments that allow
for honesty without the pressure of
rejection, ridicule, or criticism. It
gives us space to learn, not only
about our service, but ourselves."
"Yeah, that is necessary," said Bennett.
"I appreciate you reminding me about
setting a good example for self-care,
even when that means asking for help."
"Well, you know the rule," said Pips.
"Take care of your body, because it’s
the only place you have to live."
"I'm sorry I've been so grouchy
with you," said Bennett. "I don't
know what's gotten into me."
"You just got munched by
an earthquake," said Pips.
"That would upset anyone."
"Good point," said Bennett.
"That probably is why."
"I know that you're not
typically belligerent or
body-shy, so I figured it's
acute trauma response,"
said Pips. "Give yourself
a few days to settle down,
and if you don't feel better
by then, get a checkup."
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its notes appear elsewhere.
This microfunded poem is being posted one verse at a time, as donations come in to cover them. The rate is $0.50/line, so $5 will reveal 10 new lines, and so forth. There is a permanent donation button on my profile page, or you can contact me for other arrangements. You can also ask me about the number of lines per verse, if you want to fund a certain number of verses.
So far sponsors include: DW user Librarygeek,
445 lines, Buy It Now = $223
Amount donated = $112
Verses posted = 56 of 120
Amount remaining to fund fully = $111
Amount needed to fund next verse = $2.50
Amount needed to fund the verse after that = $2.50
"The Simple Act of Caring"
[Saturday, May 28, 2016 around 9:00 PM in Mercedes, California
bunker location unknown; clocks set to California time]
Bennett was exhausted.
It hadn't even been a full day
since the shattering earthquake
that everybody was calling
"the Big One," and he was
altogether worn out.
Bennett and Jules had
been out in San José
to attend a wedding.
If they had stayed in
Mercedes, they would've
been fine -- their hometown
had just a little shimmy.
San José had a 7.4 quake
that lasted 40 seconds.
Most buildings suffered
damage, and some of
them partly collapsed.
Bennett had gotten clear,
but Jules had been caught
under some of the rubble.
By the time Joshua had
found them, with a team of
rescuers to help, Bennett
had just about shredded
both of his hands and
hadn't even noticed.
Jules came out of it
with a broken right ankle
and sprained left ankle,
but insisted, "Business
as usual, I'm used to it."
"You shouldn't have to be
used to it," Bennett muttered,
but it was true that Jules had
grown up with all kinds of
minor-to-moderate injuries
from his own clumsiness.
So yeah, that was familiar
and they could cope with it.
Bennett had a brain weasel
trying to make him blame himself
for everything, and so he had to keep
stopping to refocus his thoughts on how
an earthquake was nobody's fault
and he could not possibly have
done any more than he did.
Still, things could have gone
a whole lot worse than they had.
Bennett and Jules had gotten
preferential treatment, not
because of severe injuries,
but because they were
Connected -- and Bennett
was a favored body artist
who needed his hands in
good condition to work.
They would still have
to wait their turn to see
a healer, which could take
days or even longer under
these circumstances, but
at least they would not have
to wait for everything to heal
naturally and hope for the best.
Meanwhile, a teleporter called
Handbasket had taken them
to the Kraken bunker where
Pips was babysitting the Tullets.
All of this had taken hours; it
was past supper California-time,
which is how the Can's clocks
were set since none of them
knew where they actually were.
Dylan, Isobel, and Michael
were playing together with
a fancy box of colorful blocks
while Griffin watched them.
Isobel and Michael were
making a fairy castle while
Dylan attempted to build
a playground for its people,
complete with teeter-totter.
Pips had handled Coventry
by the simple expedient of
asking him to look through
the bunker cookbook and find
something for them to make.
The boy was sitting on the floor,
earnestly examining the pictures
and trying to sound out the words.
Jules was stretched on the couch
with his feet propped on a pillow.
And drat it all, now Bennett
needed to use the bathroom.
As soon as he got up, though,
Pips moved to intercept him.
"I'm all right," Bennett said.
"You're here to take care
of the kids -- you don't
need to worry about me."
"I'm here to take care of
you too," Pips said softly.
"I never asked you to do that,"
Bennett said, shaking his head.
"Friends don't have to ask,"
Pips said. "I like to be useful."
"I'm a grownup, and I'm not
that badly injured," Bennett said.
"I can manage in the bathroom."
Pips lowered his voice even further.
"I know you're used to taking care of
yourself and everyone around you,
but right now you have open wounds
all over both hands. That makes
toileting by yourself beyond risky."
"But they're completely covered
in bandages," Bennett protested.
The medics had left the thumbs free,
but most of the fingers had been
bundled together under wrappings.
"We both know germs can get
through gauze, and even tape,"
Pips said. "Do you want to explain
to a healer why you needed to jump
the line because you got an infection?"
Bennett sighed. "No, other people
need it more, I can wait," he said.
"Then wait sensibly," said Pips.
"Let me help you. Also, think
about the example you're setting
for Jules, because I've told him
the same thing about you. That's
how I've convinced him to ask
someone to fetch things for him
instead of hobbling around himself."
Well, Bennett couldn't argue with
that one -- he know how important
it was to set a good example.
"All right, you win," he muttered.
The situation was awkward and
embarrassing, but at least he had
a friend to help him through it.
"What tone would you prefer?"
Pips said. "Clinical, submissive,
matter-of-fact, something else?
I can be whatever you need
in the present moment."
"Matter-of-fact, please,"
said Bennett. "I'm not sure
I could handle anything else."
"Okay," said Pips. "Here's
something to focus on other
than your body -- think about
how you feel right now, and
about how other folks feel
when you take care of them,
and how you can use that later."
"Easy for you to say, you're
not the one wrapped up like
a Christmas gift," said Bennett.
Pips chuckled. "You've helped
Joshua take care of me a time or
two after I got messed up at work,"
he said. "I'm a minion. Did you
think I never hurt my hands enough
to need help in the bathroom? It's
how I learned all the different ways
to take care of other people."
Dealing with the bathroom itself
was difficult, but they knew that
it would be, and they managed.
Bennett still felt weird having
someone else's hands where
his usually went, but it wasn't
the first time -- he'd done it in
his caregiver classes before.
Pips was gentle, efficient,
and practical. That made
an awkward situation, if not
comfortable, at least tolerable.
It helped that he was male.
Bennett wasn't fussy about
gender, but it was still nice.
He tried to keep his attention
on the emotions slopping around
inside him, so that he could help
other folks with similar situations
when he was caring for them later.
"Thanks for the tip about learning
from the experience," Bennett said
as Pips was washing his hands.
"You're welcome," said Pips. "It's
important for male caregivers to find
nonthreatening environments that allow
for honesty without the pressure of
rejection, ridicule, or criticism. It
gives us space to learn, not only
about our service, but ourselves."
"Yeah, that is necessary," said Bennett.
"I appreciate you reminding me about
setting a good example for self-care,
even when that means asking for help."
"Well, you know the rule," said Pips.
"Take care of your body, because it’s
the only place you have to live."
"I'm sorry I've been so grouchy
with you," said Bennett. "I don't
know what's gotten into me."
"You just got munched by
an earthquake," said Pips.
"That would upset anyone."
"Good point," said Bennett.
"That probably is why."
"I know that you're not
typically belligerent or
body-shy, so I figured it's
acute trauma response,"
said Pips. "Give yourself
a few days to settle down,
and if you don't feel better
by then, get a checkup."
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its notes appear elsewhere.