Poem: "Acknowledging the Complicated Truth"

This poem is spillover from the August 17, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from bairnsidhe, chanter1944, and Anonymous. It also fills the "why I left my family" square in my 8-2-21 card for the August Intimacies: Time Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Polychrome Heroics series.


"Acknowledging the Complicated Truth"

[Monday, February 8, 2016]

"Lloyd, could we talk?"
Bagira called as Lloyd
crossed the courtyard
of Linsey Corner. "I have
some new developments in
my life that need attention."

"Sure, I've got about an hour,"
Lloyd said. "Let's sit down."

They found a bench where they
could see most of the courtyard,
and the kids playing there. Lloyd
rested a cup of tea on his knee.

"Would it be possible to get
more electricity in my home?"
Bagira said. "Outside the kitchen?"

Lloyd narrowed his eyes. "I did
suggest that in the planning stage,
but you all insisted that you wanted
to minimize electrical use and you
didn't need private laundry rooms."

In fact, they had a four-pack of
washer-dryers in the common unit
and clotheslines strung outside.

Lloyd had even seen people
doing laundry by hand or with
manual washing machines.

"It's not for me and it's not
about laundry," Bagira said.

"All right, what then?" said Lloyd.

"I need at least an extra outlet,
preferably 240 volts, in one of
the bedrooms," said Bagira.

"That's a lot of power for
a bedroom," Lloyd said.
"What about the den
underneath the stairs?"

Bagira grimaced. "Not
ideal, but at least that'd
be better than the kitchen."

"You don't really seem like
the type to play with electricity
in the bedroom," Lloyd said.
"Unless you're loaning it out."

Bagira chuckled. "No, I'm not
into kink any more than I'm
into sex," he said. "Though
some acefolk enjoy that. I
need the electricity for
something else entirely."

"It would help if I had
a better idea of why you
needed it," Lloyd said.

Just then, a little girl
scampered up and
wrapped herself
around Bagira.

"Lloyd, this is
my new daughter,
Hsiao-han," he said.
"I adopted her from
China after all of
the recent mayhem."

That had been all over
the news, because
the blackout affected
so many industries.

"Congratulations,"
Lloyd said. "I know
that you folks like
large families."

"It's not about
the sex, Lloyd,"
Bagira said, not
for the first time.

"Okay, you explained
that," Lloyd said. "It's
not my orientation, so I
don't fully understand it,
but that's fine. It works
great for the Coral Reef,
even I can see that now."

"We really are like a reef,"
said Bagira. "A bunch of
different individuals all
grown tightly together."

"And so colorful," Lloyd said
as Alimah trotted past with
her pink-and-blue hair fluttering.

She had hooked up with Garry
and Nikki about a year ago.

"Well, a reef attracts all kinds
of interesting life," said Bagira.

"Should we be talking about sex
in front of the kid?" said Lloyd.

"Oh, I know all about sex,"
said Hsiao-han. "That's
what I was built for."

Lloyd choked on his tea.
"What?" he exclaimed.

"A bunch of the refugees
evacuated from China,
specifically digital people,
were made for intimate uses,"
Bagira said with a sigh.

"She can't be more than --
what, six, maybe seven?"
Lloyd said, shaking his head.

"Her physical appearance is
about that, yes," said Bagira.
"Chronologically, she is
less than a year old."

"That is so wrong,"
Lloyd whispered.

"That's why people
jumped to rescue
them," Bagira said.

"She's lucky to have
you," Lloyd observed.

"No," said Bagira. "We're
better off acknowledging
the complicated truth:
both of us are blessed
to have found each other."

"Okay, I can see that,"
Lloyd said. "I'm glad you're
there for each other. Hsiao-han
needed a family, and it's good
that you've got a kid of your own."

Bagira smiled. "I am delighted
by that," he said. "As much as
I love the other polywogs, when I
saw this chance, I jumped on it."

"Which brings us to your request for
a new 240-volt outlet," said Lloyd.
"Does Hsiao-han actually need
a regular bedroom, or would
the den work? And are there
any safety concerns involved?"

"Technically, she doesn't need
as much space," said Bagira.
"What do you mean about safety?"

"Well, is she likely to stick a knife
in an outlet?" said Lloyd. "Is she safe
to have around the other children?"

"I have safety protocols,"
said Hsiao-han. "They stop
me from hurting anyone."

"Oh for Pete's sake, Lloyd!"
snapped Bagira. "I would not
have brought her here if it wasn't
safe for her and everyone else."

Lloyd spread his hands. "I'm
an architect, Bagira, it's my job
to think about safety. I'm used
to doing risk assessments and
such. So I have to check."

"Yes, it's safe," Bagira said.
"We're working together with
a family therapist to smooth out
some of the rough spots. She
needs as much freedom as
any other child has, including
the chance to make mistakes."

"Okay, that's good to hear,"
said Lloyd. "I know you've got
credentials in child assessment."

"That didn't stop you from asking
rude questions," said Bagira.
"Would you have said the same
about a human child, Lloyd?"

"Of course," Lloyd said. "I did
ask if the superkid was safe.
Irving is fine, but we took
some extra precautions in
his room in case he decides
to chew things in animal form."

"Oh right, I remember that,"
Bagira said. "Good idea."

"See, if a kid is going to poke
at sockets or chew on things,
I need to know that, so I can
make the space safe for them,"
Lloyd said. "It's not nosiness."

Bagira rubbed a hand over his face.
"No, just your tendency to focus on
places more than people," he said.
"You might try phrasing it as, 'Does
she need anything special to be safe?'
instead, though. It's more considerate."

"Yes, but would people necessarily know
what's needed for that, rather than just
what a problem is?" Lloyd asked.

"I'm ... not sure," Bagira said.
"Maybe consider opening
that topic the gentler way,
and then you can expand
from there if necessary?"

"Better idea," Lloyd agreed,
grateful for the suggestion.

Unlike a lot of people, Bagira
and the rest of the Coral Reef
didn't pick on him for having
an unusual perspective. They
just helped him find ways of
phrasing his concerns that
would be less annoying.

Bagira was right: polyfolk
were really, really into talking.
It defined their culture more
than the sex did, even.

"It takes all kinds to make
a family, or a community,"
Bagira said with a smile.

"If they'll put up with
your quirks," Lloyd said.

"Well, that's why I left
my family -- my birth family,"
said Bagira. "After they learned
that I'm romantic asexual, they
refused to have anything to do
with me, and I was neither willing
nor able to change to suit them."

"You shouldn't have to change,"
Lloyd said. "Everyone has a right
to be themselves. Lord, the number
of protégés we've picked up because
their parents wouldn't put up with them."

"You and Irma really have shown
an extraordinary gift with tweens and
teens," said Bagira. "I'm sure we'll all
appreciate it more as the polywogs grow."

The oldest of them were tweens now,
a cluster of Cam and Isabel at 11,
with Elouan at 10 and Isamar at 12.

Lloyd and Irma really looked forward
to watching them grow into their potential.

"That's what makes an extended family
or a community work," said Lloyd. "You
can pass around the kids as they grow,
so they're always with someone who's
adept at handling their current age."

"A big part of it, yes, and another part
is taking good care of relationships,"
said Bagira. "I think you owe Hsiao-han
a concrete apology. I'm trying to teach her
that she has rights and deserves respect."

"Fair enough," said Lloyd. "My apology
to Irving was ice cream, though, and
that won't fly here. Clothes, maybe?"

Hsiao-han was wearing a pink-striped top
with a yellow-flowered skirt that clashed.

"She has plenty of clothes, she's just
learning what goes together," said Bagira.
"What about childhood experiences?"

It cost a mint to take the whole Coral Reef
anywhere, so that required careful planning,
and they didn't always like splitting up.

"Just the two of you, or the whole reef?"
Lloyd asking, contemplating his budget.

"Just the two of us," Bagira confirmed.
"Maybe a trip to the zoo or something."

"Will the animals be sad in cages?"
Hsiao-han asked, frowning.

"That varies," said Bagira.
"Some zoos are better than
others. We can find one
that has happy animals."

Lloyd snapped his fingers.
"I know which zoo now,"
he said, grinning. "One of
my former protégés works at
Sharegrange, building habitats.
They host animal soups and
primals as well as wild animals,
mostly in big outdoor enclosures
instead of tiny indoor cages."

"That sounds promising,"
Bagira said with a nod.

"Besides the zoo, there's
a whole adventure park with
a sprayground and rope courses.
The outer area has stuff like hiking,
camping, and horseback riding,"
said Lloyd. "It's in Wisconsin."

Bagira winced. "That's
a long way from Oregon!"

"Nah, it's no big deal, they
have a travel program and I
can get some tickets through
my protégé," said Lloyd.

"Hsiao-han, would you like
to visit the zoo?" Bagira said.

"What's it like?" she asked.

"Here, I have some pictures,"
Lloyd said, using his phone
to show her. "They have
more animals than you could
see in a day, and more things
to do than fit in a weekend."

The otters made her smile,
and she thought the flamingoes
looked funny eating upside-down.

"What is with that giraffe?"
Bagira said, laughing.

"Oh, that's Jewel -- she's
a crayon giraffe," said Lloyd.
"She pulls in enough donations
from QUILTBAG folks to support
the whole African Savanna."

"I can see why, with her spots
in rainbow colors," Bagira said.

"Don't forget the empathic capybaras,"
Lloyd said. "Everybody loves capybaras.
They're like the polyfamily that holds
the whole rest of the zoo together."

"It looks like fun," Hsiao-han said.

"In that case, apology accepted,
Lloyd, and please request
the tickets," said Bagira.

"Thanks for putting up
with me," said Lloyd.

"You're family," said Bagira.
"Yes, I know, you're not sleeping
with any of us and you don't live in
the same part of the neighborhood.
You're still part of our community."

"You'd know better than I would,"
Lloyd said. "I'll check the blueprints
and send you options of where it's
safest to install the new outlet."

"That's for your room, Hsiao-han,"
said Bagira. "We might need to use
the den instead of a bedroom, though."

"The second bedroom is the playroom,"
said Hsiao-han. "I don't mind the den. I
don't need much room, and I like the toys."

The playroom also had sleeping space
for whichever of the kids Bagira was
watching, so changing that would've
been a hassle of its own, anyhow.

"I'm sure we can figure out something
that works for everyone," said Lloyd.
"That's what architects are for."

* * *

Notes:

This poem is long, so its character and content notes appear separately.