Today is Good Friday. For me, it’s always a day to be quiet. We don’t have school today, so I can take my time waking up (I still wake in the dark.), sip my coffee slowly, and sit with these roses. Our local grocer sells roses for $10.99 a dozen. Every once in a while, I buy them for myself. I bought these over a week ago, and they are still bright and blooming. Flowers can make the saddest of days seem brighter. So in the glow of roses, I contemplate a poem.
The yarn is a tangled mess.
I could have taken the time
to prepare, rolled patiently
this thread into a ball
the needle would glide
smoothly through.
But I left out this step.
Now I am struggling with knots.How in our daily haste to get started,
to make something new,
we make the process harder.Yet, as I sit and detangle,
my mind unravels, too.
I release the struggle
into my fingers
let go of the tangles,
knit a prayer.–Margaret Simon
There’s much to contemplate in this beautiful poem. I’ll do just that as I, too, sit and sip my morning coffee.
I am hearing Lucy Calkins say as a writing tip at my Monday conference, “Ask what is this really about?” As I read your beautiful poem, I can tell that you did that. It could have ended at the first part but it is about so much more than tangled yarn!
I also smiled because I posted pictures of flowers too today. My roses are yellow! http://mywritingstoriesbysally.blogspot.com/2016/03/learning-about-next-chapter-retirement.html
Love the affirmation in the last stanza. Pretty roses!
All the process is in the detangling. So much of life is this process. One that requires a lot of patience. Happy Good Friday!
Such a lovely way to begin this Good Friday, Margaret – detangling your thoughts and finding your way to peace.
This is lovely, Margaret. I often turn to knitting as a way to relax and restore myself. Working with your hands is an act of prayer.
Your poem reminds me of how I felt about hanging laundry on the clothesline when we lived in Australia. It seems like a chore until you get into the rhythm of it. Then it serves as a meditation of sorts, or yes, a prayer.
There are a number of posts today that tell about slowing down, listening both inside and outside, and now your poem is so quiet, showing me you sitting there, de-tangling, listening to your heart. It’s very beautiful, Margaret.
This is beautiful. I love how you start with what feels like one subject and turn it into something with such meaning and truth. Have a blessed Easter celebration.
How in our daily haste to get started,
to make something new,
we make the process harder.
This spoke so pointedly to me, Margaret. I recently realized that I have been teaching each day for 28 years like I’m hosting a grand party. No wonder I’m exhausted. : ) I’m working on letting things be quotidian, on finishing before I move on, on not needing things to be New, and Now! Thanks for the reminder.
I had to ask my mother what “quotidian” means. (I’m home for the Easter weekend.) What a nice word. Thanks for your comment.
A little textile therapy helps my anxieties untangle, too. Excellent poem. We were on similar wavelengths today, as Michelle pointed out.
This really is beautiful. I especially love the last two lines.
I’m glad you were able to enjoy a morning, with flowers to boot! Thinking of you, knitting that prayer…. Happy Easter to you! xo
Love your poem. It created a sense of peace as I read it.
I love roses and think it’s wonderful that you buy them for yourself. And glad that you found your mind untangling, too. Happy Easter.
Beautiful. You have brought this poem to a very satisfying conclusion.
Margaret, I finally am backtracking to enjoy reading the Poetry Friday posts. Your poem helps me settle into the morning writing and then on to my day. Detangling my thoughts is a very important part of any day.