Poem: "More Than That"
This poem is spillover from the September 6, 2022 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from Dreamwidth user Dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "You're more than that." square in my 9-1-22 card for the Land of Oz Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with Dreamwidth user Fuzzyred. It belongs to the Big One thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
"More Than That"
[June 26, 2016]
Zipper had made a point
of introducing Nazario to
other folks around town,
especially the ones who
knew enough about soups
and superpowers that they
wouldn't make matters worse.
It was embarrassing that Nazario
still spooked at loud noises, though
it took more now than it used to.
He hadn't startled into a jump
for over two weeks now, so
that was something, at least.
Loudmouth and Torrin
were today's focus.
Nazario had seen
Loudmouth around
the Triton Teen Center,
and knew that she ran
crews of mostly teens
for renovating houses.
Torrin was organizing
the cart valet project,
another teen favorite.
Both of them showed up
at the pocket parks, too,
the ones Mrs. Dr. Finn was
setting up around Mercedes.
So Nazario kinda-sorta knew them,
but visiting their home was new.
"Hi," he said, licking his lips.
"Thanks for inviting us over."
"Any time," Loudmouth said.
"Come on in, pull up some couch."
"Happy to," Zipper said as he
sat down, then patted a cushion.
Nazario settled beside him.
The house was one of those
that Loudmouth had been fixing
to flip, only she wound up keeping it.
Everything still had that new smell,
a faint hint of paint and sawdust that
would take a year or more to fade
completely. Nazario knew that from
his cousin's construction work.
He listened with half an ear
as Zipper and Loudmouth
chatted about the weather
and the relief efforts and
other everyday stuff.
Nazario just didn't know
what to do with himself.
Somehow, over the last year
or so, he had lost the knack
of visiting, of hanging out,
even of having friends.
He wasn't sure how
to get it back, or whether
he could get it back, so he
usually just followed along in
whatever other folks did and
hoped they wouldn't notice he
was ... going through the motions.
Maybe if he kept at it, though,
he'd reconnect eventually.
"You did a nice job on
this house," he tried,
because they really had.
"Thank you," said Loudmouth.
"We put a lot of work into it."
"Do you want to come play
with the kittens?" Torrin said.
"They have a whole room."
Nazario didn't know a lot
about cats, but kittens
were always adorable.
"Yeah, thanks," he said.
Torrin led him downstairs,
then paused by a door.
"They'll probably swarm
all over you, because you're
new and interesting to them,"
he warned. "So if you're not
into that, let me know now."
"I uh, never had a cat,"
Nazario admitted. "Half of
my relatives can't afford pets,
but there are alley cats."
"And the other half?"
Torrin wondered.
"They think animals
are dirty," said Nazario.
"Well, some are, but cats
clean themselves," said Torrin.
"Come on in, and let me know
if they get to much for you."
He opened the door, and
Nazario got a peek at a room
with cat toys and climbing cubbies
around the edges, leaving plenty
of open space in the middle.
One corner held a folded blanket
with a heating pad underneath it
and a colorful pile of toys on top.
Then the pile moved, coming apart
into four kittens, still just as colorful.
One was pine green. Another was
orange, but safety orange rather
than the usual soft russet.
The third was not gray
but metallic silver.
One that Nazario had
thought was black
turned out to be
midnight blue.
They all tumbled
toward the door, and
Torrin hurried to close it
behind the two boys.
"Are those ... crayon cats?"
Nazario said. "I mean, kittens
don't usually come in colors
that bright, or do they?"
"Not usually, and these
have some other quirks
that we're still figuring out,"
said Torrin. "Don't worry
about that, though. They're
basically just kittens and like
the same things others do."
"Like what?" Nazario said.
"Remember, cat novice here."
"They like to be petted and
played with," said Torrin.
Nazario looked down at
the kittens meowing and
crawling over his feet.
He was afraid to move
and maybe step on one.
"Um, how?" Nazario said.
"I've taken scraps out to feed
the alley cats, but that's about it."
"Would you like a basic lesson
in kitten handling?" Torrin said.
"Oh, yes please," said Nazario.
"I think they're so cute, but
I'm afraid of hurting one."
"Okay, let's sit down,"
Torrin said, leading him
over to a floor couch.
"Hold out a hand and
let the kittens sniff you."
Nazario tried, but they
didn't want to smell him.
They wanted to climb
him like a cat tree.
Their tiny claws poked
through his clothes and
their whiskers tickled.
Nazario froze, trying
not to move as they
clambered over him.
Torrin just laughed.
"Let me unhook you,"
he said, scooping up
a kitten in each hand.
"Behave, fuzzballs, we
want him to like you."
"I do like the kittens,"
Nazario said, watching
the silver one try to kill
his shoelace. "I'm just
not used to them yet."
The blue pounced on
the silver, mock-growling.
"Here, pick one up and put it
in your lap," Torrin said. "Just
scoop a hand underneath so
the kitten feels supported." He
demonstrated with the orange one.
Nazario picked up the green kitten.
Its fur was soft, and under his hand
came a strange vibrating buzz.
"See, they like you," said Torrin.
"Some of them are purring."
"It's nice," said Nazario.
"I mean, I know that cats
can purr, I just never held
one doing it before now."
"Trying new things is fun,
even when it's a little scary,"
said Torrin. "Before I came here,
everything was new because
we traveled all the time."
"That sucks," Nazario said.
"I really hate moving."
"Yeah, I like it better here,"
said Torrin. "I don't have
many friends my age, yet,
but I know a lot of adults.
Zipper is pretty cool."
"He's helping me learn
to control my teleporting,"
Nazario said as the blue kitten
tried to crawl inside his jeans
through the open pant leg.
"Oh, don't let them inside
your clothes, the girls don't
like that, and kittens can't
tell girl from boy humans,"
Torrin said, retrieving it.
He put the blue kitten into
a climbing cubby, where it
promptly disappeared.
The orange kitten pelted
after it in hot pursuit, making
the whole stack rattle and shake.
"Will those stay together?"
Nazario said. "It looks like
they're made of stacked boxes."
"Pretty much, yeah," said Torrin.
"They're all recycled cardboard,
and so are the little clips that
hold everything together."
The green kitten squirmed
out of Nazario's lap to chase
the silver one into a cubby.
The blue kitten jumped out
onto the orange one's head.
Nazario laughed, then startled
himself into stopping. He didn't
laugh much anymore, but it was
starting to happen more often.
His therapist said to go with it
but not try to force himself.
"They look like they're having
a ball in there," said Nazario.
"Yeah, the climbing cubbies
are great fun," said Torrin.
"Loudmouth hit on the idea of
approaching the company that
makes them, so we get these free
in exchange for pictures of the kittens
playing with them. The makers wanted
to rate them for supercat use but didn't
know any supercats until we called."
"Well, is it working?" Nazario said.
"They seem to love those things."
"So far, so good," said Torrin.
"I figure if they had Super-Strength,
they'd need toys more like what zoos
use for lions and tigers, or the Maldives
does for whales. None of these kittens
seem to have that, though, so they're
doing okay with the cardboard."
"It's good that you made a deal
with the company," said Nazario.
"Customer input is important
and helps the business grow."
"Loudmouth said that too,"
Torrin replied. "Plus they share
some of what they know about
cats and their behavior, which helps
me understand what the kittens need."
"That sounds like a lot of work, but
a fun topic to study," said Nazario.
"I pretty much write my own program
for study, though I have adults to help,"
said Torrin. "So I've learned a lot
about cat genetics, biology, anatomy,
and development. Supercats can
be way different, though -- some
of them even have hands."
"Wow," said Nazario. "Even
I know that regular cats can
get into all kinds of stuff."
The kittens popped in and out
of the cubbyholes like gophers,
making Nazario giggle again.
"Want to try some other toys?"
Torrin said. "We have lots."
"What kinds?" Nazario asked.
"After I punch out the holes from
the cubbies, I use the scraps of
cardboard to make balls and stuff,"
said Torrin. "Some I thread onto
strings to use with a fishing pole."
He handed Nazario a lure made
of cardboard and felt circles threaded
so they attached to a long string
that dangled from the pole.
"You have to keep it moving,"
said Torrin. "The kittens
are faster than you think."
They really were. They
swarmed out of the cubbies
to chase the cardboard lure.
Nazario laughed as he
dragged it back and forth.
Torrin had another pole,
this one with a feather lure.
When the kittens finally began
to slow down, Torrin tossed out
a couple of woolly pom-poms.
"These I make from yarn scraps
that crafters save for us," he said.
"No catnip mice?" Nazario said.
Torrin shook his head. "I know
lots of people like those, but I
didn't think it was a great idea
for babies to play with drugs."
"Yikes," said Nazario. "I
never really thought about
it like that. Good point."
"They like the other toys
just fine," said Torrin.
They certainly did.
The silver kitten was
currently trying to kill
the cardboard lure
that it had captured.
The blue ping-ponged
off the wall in pursuit
of the feathered lure.
"You've put so much time
into this," Nazario said,
looking around the room,
"and just for kittens."
"Yeah, sure, they're
my responsibility,"
said Torrin. "I hope
to train them up as
therapy cats, so they
need lots of attention
and enrichment toys."
Nazario sighed. "Some
of my relatives treat me
like a responsibility,
and they're not nearly
this nice about it."
"You're more than that,"
Torrin said firmly. "You're
my friend, and the kittens
think you're their friend too."
Nazario looked down at
the green kitten, who had
fallen asleep face-first
between his shoes.
"Well, who am I
to argue with kittens?"
he said, laughing."
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its notes appear separately.
"More Than That"
[June 26, 2016]
Zipper had made a point
of introducing Nazario to
other folks around town,
especially the ones who
knew enough about soups
and superpowers that they
wouldn't make matters worse.
It was embarrassing that Nazario
still spooked at loud noises, though
it took more now than it used to.
He hadn't startled into a jump
for over two weeks now, so
that was something, at least.
Loudmouth and Torrin
were today's focus.
Nazario had seen
Loudmouth around
the Triton Teen Center,
and knew that she ran
crews of mostly teens
for renovating houses.
Torrin was organizing
the cart valet project,
another teen favorite.
Both of them showed up
at the pocket parks, too,
the ones Mrs. Dr. Finn was
setting up around Mercedes.
So Nazario kinda-sorta knew them,
but visiting their home was new.
"Hi," he said, licking his lips.
"Thanks for inviting us over."
"Any time," Loudmouth said.
"Come on in, pull up some couch."
"Happy to," Zipper said as he
sat down, then patted a cushion.
Nazario settled beside him.
The house was one of those
that Loudmouth had been fixing
to flip, only she wound up keeping it.
Everything still had that new smell,
a faint hint of paint and sawdust that
would take a year or more to fade
completely. Nazario knew that from
his cousin's construction work.
He listened with half an ear
as Zipper and Loudmouth
chatted about the weather
and the relief efforts and
other everyday stuff.
Nazario just didn't know
what to do with himself.
Somehow, over the last year
or so, he had lost the knack
of visiting, of hanging out,
even of having friends.
He wasn't sure how
to get it back, or whether
he could get it back, so he
usually just followed along in
whatever other folks did and
hoped they wouldn't notice he
was ... going through the motions.
Maybe if he kept at it, though,
he'd reconnect eventually.
"You did a nice job on
this house," he tried,
because they really had.
"Thank you," said Loudmouth.
"We put a lot of work into it."
"Do you want to come play
with the kittens?" Torrin said.
"They have a whole room."
Nazario didn't know a lot
about cats, but kittens
were always adorable.
"Yeah, thanks," he said.
Torrin led him downstairs,
then paused by a door.
"They'll probably swarm
all over you, because you're
new and interesting to them,"
he warned. "So if you're not
into that, let me know now."
"I uh, never had a cat,"
Nazario admitted. "Half of
my relatives can't afford pets,
but there are alley cats."
"And the other half?"
Torrin wondered.
"They think animals
are dirty," said Nazario.
"Well, some are, but cats
clean themselves," said Torrin.
"Come on in, and let me know
if they get to much for you."
He opened the door, and
Nazario got a peek at a room
with cat toys and climbing cubbies
around the edges, leaving plenty
of open space in the middle.
One corner held a folded blanket
with a heating pad underneath it
and a colorful pile of toys on top.
Then the pile moved, coming apart
into four kittens, still just as colorful.
One was pine green. Another was
orange, but safety orange rather
than the usual soft russet.
The third was not gray
but metallic silver.
One that Nazario had
thought was black
turned out to be
midnight blue.
They all tumbled
toward the door, and
Torrin hurried to close it
behind the two boys.
"Are those ... crayon cats?"
Nazario said. "I mean, kittens
don't usually come in colors
that bright, or do they?"
"Not usually, and these
have some other quirks
that we're still figuring out,"
said Torrin. "Don't worry
about that, though. They're
basically just kittens and like
the same things others do."
"Like what?" Nazario said.
"Remember, cat novice here."
"They like to be petted and
played with," said Torrin.
Nazario looked down at
the kittens meowing and
crawling over his feet.
He was afraid to move
and maybe step on one.
"Um, how?" Nazario said.
"I've taken scraps out to feed
the alley cats, but that's about it."
"Would you like a basic lesson
in kitten handling?" Torrin said.
"Oh, yes please," said Nazario.
"I think they're so cute, but
I'm afraid of hurting one."
"Okay, let's sit down,"
Torrin said, leading him
over to a floor couch.
"Hold out a hand and
let the kittens sniff you."
Nazario tried, but they
didn't want to smell him.
They wanted to climb
him like a cat tree.
Their tiny claws poked
through his clothes and
their whiskers tickled.
Nazario froze, trying
not to move as they
clambered over him.
Torrin just laughed.
"Let me unhook you,"
he said, scooping up
a kitten in each hand.
"Behave, fuzzballs, we
want him to like you."
"I do like the kittens,"
Nazario said, watching
the silver one try to kill
his shoelace. "I'm just
not used to them yet."
The blue pounced on
the silver, mock-growling.
"Here, pick one up and put it
in your lap," Torrin said. "Just
scoop a hand underneath so
the kitten feels supported." He
demonstrated with the orange one.
Nazario picked up the green kitten.
Its fur was soft, and under his hand
came a strange vibrating buzz.
"See, they like you," said Torrin.
"Some of them are purring."
"It's nice," said Nazario.
"I mean, I know that cats
can purr, I just never held
one doing it before now."
"Trying new things is fun,
even when it's a little scary,"
said Torrin. "Before I came here,
everything was new because
we traveled all the time."
"That sucks," Nazario said.
"I really hate moving."
"Yeah, I like it better here,"
said Torrin. "I don't have
many friends my age, yet,
but I know a lot of adults.
Zipper is pretty cool."
"He's helping me learn
to control my teleporting,"
Nazario said as the blue kitten
tried to crawl inside his jeans
through the open pant leg.
"Oh, don't let them inside
your clothes, the girls don't
like that, and kittens can't
tell girl from boy humans,"
Torrin said, retrieving it.
He put the blue kitten into
a climbing cubby, where it
promptly disappeared.
The orange kitten pelted
after it in hot pursuit, making
the whole stack rattle and shake.
"Will those stay together?"
Nazario said. "It looks like
they're made of stacked boxes."
"Pretty much, yeah," said Torrin.
"They're all recycled cardboard,
and so are the little clips that
hold everything together."
The green kitten squirmed
out of Nazario's lap to chase
the silver one into a cubby.
The blue kitten jumped out
onto the orange one's head.
Nazario laughed, then startled
himself into stopping. He didn't
laugh much anymore, but it was
starting to happen more often.
His therapist said to go with it
but not try to force himself.
"They look like they're having
a ball in there," said Nazario.
"Yeah, the climbing cubbies
are great fun," said Torrin.
"Loudmouth hit on the idea of
approaching the company that
makes them, so we get these free
in exchange for pictures of the kittens
playing with them. The makers wanted
to rate them for supercat use but didn't
know any supercats until we called."
"Well, is it working?" Nazario said.
"They seem to love those things."
"So far, so good," said Torrin.
"I figure if they had Super-Strength,
they'd need toys more like what zoos
use for lions and tigers, or the Maldives
does for whales. None of these kittens
seem to have that, though, so they're
doing okay with the cardboard."
"It's good that you made a deal
with the company," said Nazario.
"Customer input is important
and helps the business grow."
"Loudmouth said that too,"
Torrin replied. "Plus they share
some of what they know about
cats and their behavior, which helps
me understand what the kittens need."
"That sounds like a lot of work, but
a fun topic to study," said Nazario.
"I pretty much write my own program
for study, though I have adults to help,"
said Torrin. "So I've learned a lot
about cat genetics, biology, anatomy,
and development. Supercats can
be way different, though -- some
of them even have hands."
"Wow," said Nazario. "Even
I know that regular cats can
get into all kinds of stuff."
The kittens popped in and out
of the cubbyholes like gophers,
making Nazario giggle again.
"Want to try some other toys?"
Torrin said. "We have lots."
"What kinds?" Nazario asked.
"After I punch out the holes from
the cubbies, I use the scraps of
cardboard to make balls and stuff,"
said Torrin. "Some I thread onto
strings to use with a fishing pole."
He handed Nazario a lure made
of cardboard and felt circles threaded
so they attached to a long string
that dangled from the pole.
"You have to keep it moving,"
said Torrin. "The kittens
are faster than you think."
They really were. They
swarmed out of the cubbies
to chase the cardboard lure.
Nazario laughed as he
dragged it back and forth.
Torrin had another pole,
this one with a feather lure.
When the kittens finally began
to slow down, Torrin tossed out
a couple of woolly pom-poms.
"These I make from yarn scraps
that crafters save for us," he said.
"No catnip mice?" Nazario said.
Torrin shook his head. "I know
lots of people like those, but I
didn't think it was a great idea
for babies to play with drugs."
"Yikes," said Nazario. "I
never really thought about
it like that. Good point."
"They like the other toys
just fine," said Torrin.
They certainly did.
The silver kitten was
currently trying to kill
the cardboard lure
that it had captured.
The blue ping-ponged
off the wall in pursuit
of the feathered lure.
"You've put so much time
into this," Nazario said,
looking around the room,
"and just for kittens."
"Yeah, sure, they're
my responsibility,"
said Torrin. "I hope
to train them up as
therapy cats, so they
need lots of attention
and enrichment toys."
Nazario sighed. "Some
of my relatives treat me
like a responsibility,
and they're not nearly
this nice about it."
"You're more than that,"
Torrin said firmly. "You're
my friend, and the kittens
think you're their friend too."
Nazario looked down at
the green kitten, who had
fallen asleep face-first
between his shoes.
"Well, who am I
to argue with kittens?"
he said, laughing."
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its notes appear separately.