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@ 27.225 MHz: WallStones; Landing Report [XLIX]
Trystan? Long-haired, slender, delicate of limb,
profound gaze and winsome smile---exquisitely
beautiful adolescent; naively falls
in love with each boy he meets; but so advanced
in piloting skills.
The Directorate may question one habit
of his: he will not put on shoes while aboard;
he slit the sides of his slacks' cuffs because---in
hia words---"That style looks better barefoot . . . so my
"boyfriends have told me."
Early off-earth, I---surreptitiously---watched
him, alone at the helm, his dirty bare feet
propped on the console; his tunic unbuttoned
(frontally and at the wrists); steering the ship
through a debris field,
uncharted (a drift from some ancient epoch's
planetary disaster in the locale).
Lesser qualifieds might have been shaken up
by this: not him. His touch on the transitrols
was as artistic
as the technique required to play---on one of
the few pianos left---a Choppin' nocturne,
exactlty as the composer wrote it (while,
perhaps, another Tadzian danced, barefoot,
over the georgesands).
Old prudes and haters seem likely demented
as they bully the other-oriented,
despite the laws of interplanetary
inclusive protections that the prejudiced
glibly disregard.
Still, I have to wonder about Trystan, who---
when we made landfall on Dwebish PhiChiPsi
(a terranfinetune, one of the historic
firsts)---asked if season and surface permitted
the forego of shoes.
Starward
The "Landing Report" is a
The "Landing Report" is a clever device for an endearing and fanciful character study, brimming with all the hallmarks of quiet rebellion and confident authenticity. The subject is further illuminated by the speaker of the poem who shows a deep admiration for the highly skilled, multidimensional, barefoot maverick with a recognizable inner beauty as well as physical appeal.
It was a shrewd choice to make the observer remain detached and professional in spite of Trystan's allure because this added a subtle tension, more provocative than anything obvious or explicit.
The narrator, with a melodic artistry slipping into the professional report, remains fascinated with the free spirit's insistence on foregoing shoes to the very end. The last line has an open-ended quality; an invitation, perhaps. The unwritten story leaves an irresistible sense of possibility and intrigue.
Another celebration of love in this crucial and varied series.
Thank you so much. Although
Thank you so much. Although I really liked the character Trystan, and wanted to present him, I was nervous about the poem because of the use of certain terms (like the name of the planet on which the ship lands; and, following the example of Cordwainer Smith's stories. Your comment gives me encouragement to continue on with poems like this.
J-Called