picking up the threads

Many years ago I used to sew.
My passion was to embroider replica samplers
and follow the intricate colour variations
of girls who sewed by candleight
with hand-dyed threads.

And then I was very ill
and the embroidery was never picked up again.
I really don't know why.
Perhaps I lost my ability to concentrate
or perhaps our life changed subtly
and the time for stitching got lost.

I opened the bag recently
and it was all as I had left it.
The needle was pushed through the canvas
and the silks were as vibrant as ever.

When I looked closely there was a tiny knot in the thread,
so small that I could hardly see it.
And I wondered if I had turned away
because that tiny knot
had seemed too difficult to sort out.
When you are ill,
small challenges can seem insurmountable.

It seemed extraordinary that such a tiny knot,
so small that you can hardly see it,
could act as a barrier for fifteen years
and I decided that this weekend
I will find the time to undo the knot
and start again.

for my friend, Gina