Poem: "The Heart's Best Tenant"
This poem is spillover from the February 1, 2022 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by 
ng_moonmoth, DW user Kelkyag, and See_Also_Friend. It also fills the "Go for a hike / walk" square in my 2-1-22 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. It belongs to the Steamsmith series.
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So far sponsors include:ng_moonmoth, kestrels_nest, DW user Fuzzyred.
FULLY FUNDED
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Amount needed to fund next verse = $4
Amount needed to fund the verse after that = $2
[Late July, 1840]
Maryam and Charlotte
spent the latter part of July
getting to know each other.
Every other day, they
went out walking together,
sometimes in a park and
others in a shopping district.
Today they had chosen
a long park festooned
with late-summer roses.
They were chaperoned,
loosely speaking, since
Cecily was taking Farasat
on a brisk walk, and they
were usually a dozen paces
ahead of the courting couple.
That didn't matter, though;
Cecily's sharp ears could
pick up everything anyway.
"What are your thoughts
on love?" Maryam asked.
"You transfix me quite,"
Charlotte said with a smile.
"Even though I'm not the sort
of rich nobleman your mother
likely expected you to marry?"
Maryam said delicately.
Charlotte snorted. "No,
my mother told me to marry
for sense and friendship,"
she said. "I don’t want
diamond sunbursts or
marble halls, just you."
Maryam was quite probably
getting in over her head, but
in the most pleasant way
possible, like drowning
in a barrel of champagne.
"What about you, then?"
said Charlotte. "What
do you think about love?
It must be very different."
"Not so much," said Maryam.
"Love is fierce like a cheetah;
once it has entered the heart,
then it is in vain to resist."
Charlotte looked at Farasat,
who was fiercely destroying
a sprig of leaves that had
dared to fall on his head.
"Terribly fierce," she said,
giggling behind her hand.
Maryam was glad that
Charlotte liked the quote.
She wasn't all that close
with her mother, but she had
made a point of asking about
love because of the courtship,
and Sarah had given her a set
of very deep sayings about it.
Not everyone was so welcoming
of course. As they rounded a bend,
an older matron sniffed at them.
"That's hardly the way to greet
a gentleman out for a stroll,"
Charlotte scolded her.
"Funny, it doesn't look
like you're walking with
a gentleman," she retorted.
"The look of a gentleman is
little else than the reflection
of the looks of the world,"
Maryam said smoothly.
"Being male is a matter
of birth. Being a man is
a matter of age. But
being a gentleman
is a matter of choice."
The matron huffed at them
and hurried away, nose in air.
Cecily strolled past and said,
"Ignore her. That old cow
just has a bee in her bonnet
because her son took off with
a shopgirl. All of her rivals are
over there gossiping about it."
Then she was off again,
the cheetah lolloping along at
her heels like a golden shadow.
"Shall we talk of business?"
said Charlotte. "Love is all
very well and good, but I should
like to make sure we've a roof
and walls about us, even if
they're not made of marble."
"Well ..." Maryam said slowly.
"I've been taking over more
of the work in supervising
my father's lands. That will
keep us well enough, if we're
frugal. I don't wish to burden
the tenants overly much."
"Sensible," said Charlotte.
"Strip a man of the fruits of
his labor and he's hardly
motivated to work for you."
"Yes, exactly," said Maryam.
"When it comes to steamwork,
though, I've always been
more of an inventor than
a manufacturer. I've made
some money, but not a lot."
Charlotte tapped a finger
thoughtfully against her chin.
"Why not hire a man of business,
then?" she said. "Or someone
to run the front desk and then
a few apprentices to turn out
copies of your inventions to sell.
Have you anything promising?"
"Well, there's that granular fuel
I mixed up to fill Farasat's bed,"
said Maryam. "It gives slow heat."
"I say, that would be useful!"
said Charlotte. "You could fill
handwarmers with the stuff."
"It's finicky to make, though,
at least for now," said Maryam.
"If I could iron out the kinks,
then we could make more."
"Why not put it about at
the Steamsmith's Guild?"
Charlotte said. "Let
the young lads try it.
You told me that they're
game to go for new things."
"They are, but no telling
which ones," said Maryam.
"So sweeten the pot a bit,"
said Charlotte. "If anyone
can improve production,
give him a bit of lab space
and a percentage of profit.
That'll set up a lad for life."
"Capital," said Maryam.
"I'll try that next time I go."
A pair of old men sitting on
a bench groused at them.
"Imagine that, two women
going on about business,"
said the taller. "In my day,
women knew their place."
"Well now, that dark one
doesn't look like a woman
to me," said the shorter.
"Hoy, lad! You'd best have
your funds in order before
you propose to your girl, or
she'll leave you for a better!"
"If someone is destined
to be with you, nothing can
keep her away; if she is not,
nothing can make her stay,"
Maryam said evenly.
"Besides, I've seen
the men on offer,"
Charlotte said in
an arid tone. "I
am not impressed."
"Oh, and what'll you
do when that spitfire
embarrasses you in front
of your friends?" said the man.
"I'll thank my lucky stars,"
Maryam said with a nod.
"A wife who discomforts you
with truth is better than a mistress
who massages you with lies."
Charlotte laughed. "And that
is why I love you," she said,
tugging Maryam away.
"Silly old sods," Cecily said
as she came by again. "I bet
the short one got dumped
himself. People hate most
in others what they can't
abide in themselves."
"That would explain much,"
said Charlotte. "I think some
of them are just twitting us
because we look different,
and I don't mean our clothes."
Charlotte was the moon to
Maryam's night, and not
everyone would see it
as romantically as that.
"Does it bother you?"
Maryam asked her. "I
know you've seen people
snub me, but you haven't
been in the thick of it before."
"I'm not bothered by the words
of idiots," Charlotte assured her.
"What about you? Does it upset
you that you couldn't find a widow
more in keeping with your kind?"
"It doesn't upset me," said Maryam.
"You can marry outside of your race,
but never marry outside of your values."
"Ah, that would be the limitation,"
Charlotte said. "I remember
some of your ill-fated stories
about the widow search."
Maryam smiled again,
touched that Charlotte
recalled the struggle.
It brought to mind
another of the sayings
that her mother had shared.
If you kiss her cheeks,
she is your friend;
if you kiss her lips,
she is your lover;
if you kiss her heart,
she is your soul mate.
Maryam wasn't ready
to share that one yet.
"I'm glad that you pay
attention to me," she said.
"It's always nice to be noticed."
"Of course I pay attention,"
Charlotte said. "I enjoy
spending time with you.
You're the most interesting
person that I even know!"
"That's what I like about
having you in my life now,"
Maryam said, hugging her.
"Love is the heart’s best tenant;
it always pays its rent on time."
* * *
Notes:
"You transfix me quite."
– Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
"I don’t want diamond sunburst or marble halls. I just want you."
– Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery
"If someone is destined to be with you, nothing can keep her away; if she is not, nothing can make her stay."
-- Matshona Dhliwayo
"Love is fierce like a lion; once it has entered the heart, it is in vain to resist."
-- Matshona Dhliwayo
"The look of a gentleman is little else than the reflection of the looks of the world."
-- William Hazlitt
"Being male is a matter of birth. Being a man is a matter of age. But being a gentleman is a matter of choice."
-- Vin Diesel
"A wife who discomforts you with truth is better than a mistress who massages you with lies."
-- Matshona Dhliwayo
"You can marry outside of your race, but never marry outside of your values."
-- Matshona Dhliwayo
"If you kiss her cheeks, she is your friend; if you kiss her lips, she is your lover; if you kiss her heart, she is your soul mate."
-- Matshona Dhliwayo
"Love is the heart’s best tenant; it always pays its rent on time."
-- Matshona Dhliwayo
[To be continued ...]
ng_moonmoth, DW user Kelkyag, and See_Also_Friend. It also fills the "Go for a hike / walk" square in my 2-1-22 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. It belongs to the Steamsmith series.So far sponsors include:
ng_moonmoth, kestrels_nest, DW user Fuzzyred.FULLY FUNDED
Amount donated = $200
Verses posted = 52 of 57
Amount remaining to fund fully = $19
Amount needed to fund next verse = $4
Amount needed to fund the verse after that = $2
The Heart’s Best Tenant
[Late July, 1840]
Maryam and Charlotte
spent the latter part of July
getting to know each other.
Every other day, they
went out walking together,
sometimes in a park and
others in a shopping district.
Today they had chosen
a long park festooned
with late-summer roses.
They were chaperoned,
loosely speaking, since
Cecily was taking Farasat
on a brisk walk, and they
were usually a dozen paces
ahead of the courting couple.
That didn't matter, though;
Cecily's sharp ears could
pick up everything anyway.
"What are your thoughts
on love?" Maryam asked.
"You transfix me quite,"
Charlotte said with a smile.
"Even though I'm not the sort
of rich nobleman your mother
likely expected you to marry?"
Maryam said delicately.
Charlotte snorted. "No,
my mother told me to marry
for sense and friendship,"
she said. "I don’t want
diamond sunbursts or
marble halls, just you."
Maryam was quite probably
getting in over her head, but
in the most pleasant way
possible, like drowning
in a barrel of champagne.
"What about you, then?"
said Charlotte. "What
do you think about love?
It must be very different."
"Not so much," said Maryam.
"Love is fierce like a cheetah;
once it has entered the heart,
then it is in vain to resist."
Charlotte looked at Farasat,
who was fiercely destroying
a sprig of leaves that had
dared to fall on his head.
"Terribly fierce," she said,
giggling behind her hand.
Maryam was glad that
Charlotte liked the quote.
She wasn't all that close
with her mother, but she had
made a point of asking about
love because of the courtship,
and Sarah had given her a set
of very deep sayings about it.
Not everyone was so welcoming
of course. As they rounded a bend,
an older matron sniffed at them.
"That's hardly the way to greet
a gentleman out for a stroll,"
Charlotte scolded her.
"Funny, it doesn't look
like you're walking with
a gentleman," she retorted.
"The look of a gentleman is
little else than the reflection
of the looks of the world,"
Maryam said smoothly.
"Being male is a matter
of birth. Being a man is
a matter of age. But
being a gentleman
is a matter of choice."
The matron huffed at them
and hurried away, nose in air.
Cecily strolled past and said,
"Ignore her. That old cow
just has a bee in her bonnet
because her son took off with
a shopgirl. All of her rivals are
over there gossiping about it."
Then she was off again,
the cheetah lolloping along at
her heels like a golden shadow.
"Shall we talk of business?"
said Charlotte. "Love is all
very well and good, but I should
like to make sure we've a roof
and walls about us, even if
they're not made of marble."
"Well ..." Maryam said slowly.
"I've been taking over more
of the work in supervising
my father's lands. That will
keep us well enough, if we're
frugal. I don't wish to burden
the tenants overly much."
"Sensible," said Charlotte.
"Strip a man of the fruits of
his labor and he's hardly
motivated to work for you."
"Yes, exactly," said Maryam.
"When it comes to steamwork,
though, I've always been
more of an inventor than
a manufacturer. I've made
some money, but not a lot."
Charlotte tapped a finger
thoughtfully against her chin.
"Why not hire a man of business,
then?" she said. "Or someone
to run the front desk and then
a few apprentices to turn out
copies of your inventions to sell.
Have you anything promising?"
"Well, there's that granular fuel
I mixed up to fill Farasat's bed,"
said Maryam. "It gives slow heat."
"I say, that would be useful!"
said Charlotte. "You could fill
handwarmers with the stuff."
"It's finicky to make, though,
at least for now," said Maryam.
"If I could iron out the kinks,
then we could make more."
"Why not put it about at
the Steamsmith's Guild?"
Charlotte said. "Let
the young lads try it.
You told me that they're
game to go for new things."
"They are, but no telling
which ones," said Maryam.
"So sweeten the pot a bit,"
said Charlotte. "If anyone
can improve production,
give him a bit of lab space
and a percentage of profit.
That'll set up a lad for life."
"Capital," said Maryam.
"I'll try that next time I go."
A pair of old men sitting on
a bench groused at them.
"Imagine that, two women
going on about business,"
said the taller. "In my day,
women knew their place."
"Well now, that dark one
doesn't look like a woman
to me," said the shorter.
"Hoy, lad! You'd best have
your funds in order before
you propose to your girl, or
she'll leave you for a better!"
"If someone is destined
to be with you, nothing can
keep her away; if she is not,
nothing can make her stay,"
Maryam said evenly.
"Besides, I've seen
the men on offer,"
Charlotte said in
an arid tone. "I
am not impressed."
"Oh, and what'll you
do when that spitfire
embarrasses you in front
of your friends?" said the man.
"I'll thank my lucky stars,"
Maryam said with a nod.
"A wife who discomforts you
with truth is better than a mistress
who massages you with lies."
Charlotte laughed. "And that
is why I love you," she said,
tugging Maryam away.
"Silly old sods," Cecily said
as she came by again. "I bet
the short one got dumped
himself. People hate most
in others what they can't
abide in themselves."
"That would explain much,"
said Charlotte. "I think some
of them are just twitting us
because we look different,
and I don't mean our clothes."
Charlotte was the moon to
Maryam's night, and not
everyone would see it
as romantically as that.
"Does it bother you?"
Maryam asked her. "I
know you've seen people
snub me, but you haven't
been in the thick of it before."
"I'm not bothered by the words
of idiots," Charlotte assured her.
"What about you? Does it upset
you that you couldn't find a widow
more in keeping with your kind?"
"It doesn't upset me," said Maryam.
"You can marry outside of your race,
but never marry outside of your values."
"Ah, that would be the limitation,"
Charlotte said. "I remember
some of your ill-fated stories
about the widow search."
Maryam smiled again,
touched that Charlotte
recalled the struggle.
It brought to mind
another of the sayings
that her mother had shared.
If you kiss her cheeks,
she is your friend;
if you kiss her lips,
she is your lover;
if you kiss her heart,
she is your soul mate.
Maryam wasn't ready
to share that one yet.
"I'm glad that you pay
attention to me," she said.
"It's always nice to be noticed."
"Of course I pay attention,"
Charlotte said. "I enjoy
spending time with you.
You're the most interesting
person that I even know!"
"That's what I like about
having you in my life now,"
Maryam said, hugging her.
"Love is the heart’s best tenant;
it always pays its rent on time."
* * *
Notes:
"You transfix me quite."
– Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
"I don’t want diamond sunburst or marble halls. I just want you."
– Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery
"If someone is destined to be with you, nothing can keep her away; if she is not, nothing can make her stay."
-- Matshona Dhliwayo
"Love is fierce like a lion; once it has entered the heart, it is in vain to resist."
-- Matshona Dhliwayo
"The look of a gentleman is little else than the reflection of the looks of the world."
-- William Hazlitt
"Being male is a matter of birth. Being a man is a matter of age. But being a gentleman is a matter of choice."
-- Vin Diesel
"A wife who discomforts you with truth is better than a mistress who massages you with lies."
-- Matshona Dhliwayo
"You can marry outside of your race, but never marry outside of your values."
-- Matshona Dhliwayo
"If you kiss her cheeks, she is your friend; if you kiss her lips, she is your lover; if you kiss her heart, she is your soul mate."
-- Matshona Dhliwayo
"Love is the heart’s best tenant; it always pays its rent on time."
-- Matshona Dhliwayo
[To be continued ...]