Poem: "At the Moment of Perception"
This poem came out of the July 5, 2022 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from Dreamwidth user Readera and 
kestrels_nest. It also fills the "smell" square in my 7-1-22 card for the Body Parts Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with Dreamwidth user Fuzzyred. It belongs to the Daughters of the Apocalypse series.
"At the Moment of Perception"
[Ripe Moon 5, 16 A.E.]
Mikil raided the new shipment
for spices and found two new ones.
She borrowed some cinnamon
and cardamom, then went
to search for Choko the Nose.
The little girl's parents had been
scavengers, and the whole family
wound up with terrible injuries
from unexploded ordinance
releasing the Grunge years
after the initial attacks.
They had made their way
to Lazarus Lake in hopes
of healing, but both parents
had died within the year.
Only Choko survived and
joined the community, though
she had bad Grunge scars
on both of her cheeks and
several other places.
She had also developed
a strong sensitivity to odors.
It had taken a while for Choko
to realize that her sense of smell
was actually more perceptive
than most people's was --
how could she tell what
other folks smelled?
The only obvious part
was that powerful odors
tended to make her queasy.
Choko thought of that as
a handicap, but Mikil had
better ideas for the ability.
Mikil found Choko helping
a group of women with laundry.
"Come here, I wanna show
you something," Mikil said,
beckoning to the girl.
"Sup?" said Choko.
Mikil brought out a bottle
of cinnamon but didn't open it.
"That smells!" Choko said,
taking a big step back.
"Sure does, even for me,"
said Mikil. "This is cinnamon.
It's tree bark -- see the curls? --
but it makes a good spice. So,
that's what cinnamon smells like."
"It smells red," Choko said,
"and kinda ... hot, too."
"Yee, it does," said Mikil.
"Now try this'n next."
"It's not as strong, and
more flowery," said Choko.
"This is cardamom. It's
another spice, and it comes
in little seedpods," said Mikil.
"Will you remember it?"
Choko nodded vigorously.
"They really smell, it's easy."
That was why Mikil thought
her sensitivity could be useful,
if they trained it for distinguishing
between real or fake spices, and for
detecting subtle threats like spoiled food.
"Smelling something, anything, is a lot
like thinking," said Mikil. "Immediately
at the moment of perception, you can
feel your mind going to work, sending
the scent around from place to place,
searching your past for recognition,
old memories and old connections."
Choko nodded. "Yee, that's it --
like every smell I ever sniffed is
still stuck in my head somewhere."
"That's what makes your nose
extra helpful," Mikil explained. "You
notice smells that other folks don't,
and you remember them better too.
You could stop a trader from trying
to cheat us with fake spices."
"I could," Choko said, brightening.
"I didn't really think of it like that."
"Well, now you can," said Mikil.
"It's all about thinking how what
you sense can be put to use."
Choko leaned forward just a bit
to sniff the spices again, though she
was still farther than arm's reach away.
"Cinnamon, cardamom," she said.
"Okay, I got 'em both now."
"Then let's go take these to
the cooks," said Mikil. "You
can check the morning milk
to see if it's still good, too."
As the weather warmed,
that talent was proving
more and more useful.
It might take time for Mikil
to convince Choko that
her perceptions were
both uncommon and
helpful to the commune.
Mikil was willing to put in
as much time and training
as it took to develop the skill.
With as much as the Grunge
had taken away from them,
they couldn't afford to waste
the rare gifts it had given.
* * *
Notes:
Choko the Nose -- She has tan skin, almond-shaped black eyes, and shaggy dark hair cut short. She has Grunge scars on both cheeks, as well as several other places. She is 8 years old in 16 A.E.
Choko is a muney who lives in Lazarus Lake, Lincoln, Cadia (near former Moses Lake, Washington, USA) in the Central Arid Steppe. Her parents were scavengers, and the whole family wound up with injuries from unexploded ordinance releasing the Grunge years after the initial attacks. They made their way to Lazarus Lake in hopes of healing, but both parents died within the year. Choko survived and joined the community. She developed a strong sensitivity to odors that at first seemed like a handicap, but Mikil is encouraging her to train it into a useful ability for detecting subtle threats like spoiled food.
* * *
"The act of smelling something, anything, is remarkably like the act of thinking. Immediately at the moment of perception, you can feel the mind going to work, sending the odor around from place to place, setting off complex repertories through the brain, polling one center after another for signs of re recognition, for old memories and old connection."
-- Lewis Thomas
June -- Ripe Moon (Kalapuya)
Sup -- a general inquiry, or sometimes a greeting. "What is up?" meaning "What is going on?" became "Whatsup" and then "Sup."
Bro "Sup bro, how ya been?" "Yo bro, what are you doing?!"
Brah/bruh "Whatsup brah?" "Hey bra, get out of here!"
kestrels_nest. It also fills the "smell" square in my 7-1-22 card for the Body Parts Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with Dreamwidth user Fuzzyred. It belongs to the Daughters of the Apocalypse series."At the Moment of Perception"
[Ripe Moon 5, 16 A.E.]
Mikil raided the new shipment
for spices and found two new ones.
She borrowed some cinnamon
and cardamom, then went
to search for Choko the Nose.
The little girl's parents had been
scavengers, and the whole family
wound up with terrible injuries
from unexploded ordinance
releasing the Grunge years
after the initial attacks.
They had made their way
to Lazarus Lake in hopes
of healing, but both parents
had died within the year.
Only Choko survived and
joined the community, though
she had bad Grunge scars
on both of her cheeks and
several other places.
She had also developed
a strong sensitivity to odors.
It had taken a while for Choko
to realize that her sense of smell
was actually more perceptive
than most people's was --
how could she tell what
other folks smelled?
The only obvious part
was that powerful odors
tended to make her queasy.
Choko thought of that as
a handicap, but Mikil had
better ideas for the ability.
Mikil found Choko helping
a group of women with laundry.
"Come here, I wanna show
you something," Mikil said,
beckoning to the girl.
"Sup?" said Choko.
Mikil brought out a bottle
of cinnamon but didn't open it.
"That smells!" Choko said,
taking a big step back.
"Sure does, even for me,"
said Mikil. "This is cinnamon.
It's tree bark -- see the curls? --
but it makes a good spice. So,
that's what cinnamon smells like."
"It smells red," Choko said,
"and kinda ... hot, too."
"Yee, it does," said Mikil.
"Now try this'n next."
"It's not as strong, and
more flowery," said Choko.
"This is cardamom. It's
another spice, and it comes
in little seedpods," said Mikil.
"Will you remember it?"
Choko nodded vigorously.
"They really smell, it's easy."
That was why Mikil thought
her sensitivity could be useful,
if they trained it for distinguishing
between real or fake spices, and for
detecting subtle threats like spoiled food.
"Smelling something, anything, is a lot
like thinking," said Mikil. "Immediately
at the moment of perception, you can
feel your mind going to work, sending
the scent around from place to place,
searching your past for recognition,
old memories and old connections."
Choko nodded. "Yee, that's it --
like every smell I ever sniffed is
still stuck in my head somewhere."
"That's what makes your nose
extra helpful," Mikil explained. "You
notice smells that other folks don't,
and you remember them better too.
You could stop a trader from trying
to cheat us with fake spices."
"I could," Choko said, brightening.
"I didn't really think of it like that."
"Well, now you can," said Mikil.
"It's all about thinking how what
you sense can be put to use."
Choko leaned forward just a bit
to sniff the spices again, though she
was still farther than arm's reach away.
"Cinnamon, cardamom," she said.
"Okay, I got 'em both now."
"Then let's go take these to
the cooks," said Mikil. "You
can check the morning milk
to see if it's still good, too."
As the weather warmed,
that talent was proving
more and more useful.
It might take time for Mikil
to convince Choko that
her perceptions were
both uncommon and
helpful to the commune.
Mikil was willing to put in
as much time and training
as it took to develop the skill.
With as much as the Grunge
had taken away from them,
they couldn't afford to waste
the rare gifts it had given.
* * *
Notes:
Choko the Nose -- She has tan skin, almond-shaped black eyes, and shaggy dark hair cut short. She has Grunge scars on both cheeks, as well as several other places. She is 8 years old in 16 A.E.
Choko is a muney who lives in Lazarus Lake, Lincoln, Cadia (near former Moses Lake, Washington, USA) in the Central Arid Steppe. Her parents were scavengers, and the whole family wound up with injuries from unexploded ordinance releasing the Grunge years after the initial attacks. They made their way to Lazarus Lake in hopes of healing, but both parents died within the year. Choko survived and joined the community. She developed a strong sensitivity to odors that at first seemed like a handicap, but Mikil is encouraging her to train it into a useful ability for detecting subtle threats like spoiled food.
* * *
"The act of smelling something, anything, is remarkably like the act of thinking. Immediately at the moment of perception, you can feel the mind going to work, sending the odor around from place to place, setting off complex repertories through the brain, polling one center after another for signs of re recognition, for old memories and old connection."
-- Lewis Thomas
June -- Ripe Moon (Kalapuya)
Sup -- a general inquiry, or sometimes a greeting. "What is up?" meaning "What is going on?" became "Whatsup" and then "Sup."
Bro "Sup bro, how ya been?" "Yo bro, what are you doing?!"
Brah/bruh "Whatsup brah?" "Hey bra, get out of here!"