Threshold Winter 2011

The Purl

I declare myself guilty for not having
made, with these hands given me,
an afghan.
Why did I not knit one?
Why did I not have the skills to produce at least one small scarf?

What good are these hands
if I have not mastered getting the
yarn on the needles?
I have listened to the great Masters speak
of weight and skeins
and matching hues at Wal-Mart, yet
I have never come home from a trip to Sam’s store
with a bag of wool…of some synthetic material.

I have watched spiders knit their webs
with lightning quick moves
from invisible thread
creating intricate designs
for snaring their foes.
The terms for the craft are familiar.
I know “knit” and “purl.”
I have heard that stifled sob of “I dropped a stitch,”
and the agonized lament, “I have to rip all of that.”

Is it too late to admit I
just don’t have the skilled fingers,
the creative talent to produce
not one small piece for display somewhere?

I warm myself on chilly days
with the talents of others.

by S. Jeremy Dempsey, OSB
(with help from Pablo Neruda)