***
How do the fish people
do the thing
where they reach out
and show somebody they care?
Well, I pulled a Dr. Mizto
and handed out questionnaires
asking
what made them feel appreciated.
What made them feel seen.
What someone could do to make a boring task–or a grand one–worth it.
What someone else had done that made them smile.
Some of them said “Getting paid” or “getting thanked,”
some said “When someone understands me”
some said “When someone compliments me”
some said “When someone surprises me by working beside me”
and some said “When I see how my work changes someone’s life”
and I was like
great
good
I’ve invented positive psychology or something for these people,
I should open a clinic–
I guess I have my practical answers,
a how-to guide
to make people glad,
good for me
I did it
I guess the next step is,
how do I get someone to thank me, understand me, compliment me, work with me?
Where’s the someone in the grand realms of existence
who’ll tell me
my work changed their life?
Cuz it sure hasn’t been the fish people,
and the praises of the tree people
somehow didn’t feel personal.
Then, how do I do that for someone, without getting taken advantage of
and wishing I could take my werewolf alien back?
How do I do that, without them dying, or betraying me, or something,
and cutting open my heart?
***
find my book Graveyard of Lullabies at this link
Jordyn Saelor 