Sunday, July 1, 2012

The littlest things

***
 
Sloppy


I do not remember
this button
on this shirt

being this white,
the stitching
being this tight;

it's not the same

as the rest
on this shirt:

all the others hang 
loose, comfortable
where they are hooked;

but this one,
number two
from the bottom,

this one is different:

the stitches are too clean,
too tight,
         over-sewn --

this one is new.

***

34 comments:

Chris Lawrence said...

you feel every word

Ravenblack said...

Cool. Thanks Chris.

Scarlet said...

Nice use of the button to describe a person or an event ~

Who was being sloppy, now :-)

Brian Miller said...

which leads me to wonder just what happened that the button needed to be replaced....there is a story there surely...and it makes for a interesting allusion to other things as well...

Marbles in My Pocket said...

Oh, now there's another memory jogged in my old brain. I've sewed a few buttons on in my time, and who'd have thought you could sew one on too tight. I think I learned that lesson first time out. I could hardly get the button hole around the button!

Janine Bollée said...

Was there ANY LIPSTICK ON HIS COLLAR maybe :-)

Fun and terse and enigmatic write.

Janine Bollée said...

This reply is for Charles:
Next time you sew on a button: put two matchsticks in between the button and the shirt, to remove later and give it some slack.
[That's what I taught my husband :-)]

Daydreamertoo said...

Ahh ha... so.. the question must be then.. who is the person who sewed it on for him?
This is fabulous writing because it's so concise, and leads directly to the subject of 'who'
A great read :)

Claudia said...

ugh...that leaves the mind wandering what may happened...and in direction of another woman maybe..

Unknown said...

Very tightly written. You've sown questions that lead one to ask about why the button obsesses the speaker. Buttons often hold secrets as much as they reveal, it seems.

aka_andrea said...

that first moment when you realize that things have changed and will never be the same again...

Anonymous said...

A mystery here - subtle - Sherlockian! Human too. k.

Ravenblack said...

Thanks for the awesome responses, everyone. Much appreciated. :)

Mary said...

I do love the mystery in this poem! You could write a sequel, which would be fun to read.

Anonymous said...

A really tight write, and possibly some hidden meanings in there too, great stuff!

Anna Montgomery said...

Conscientiousness tells fascinating stories, as does its lack. I enjoyed pondering the who and why here. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

a hint of mystery here, I think, the lines of the poem gathering evidence as if through a detective's lens - really well done!

Susie Clevenger said...

Simply a button or metaphor for a person...there are so many questions. Who did sew on the button? or I have been comfortable with those around me..who is this that stirs my regulated life? Love it!!

Sherry Blue Sky said...

I LOVE this poem - that is exactly how foreign a newly sewn on button feels to the fingers. Great write.

Beachanny said...

The simplest things awry catch our attention. You magnified a situation for us here and made us all into wannabe detectives. Very deft and clever write.

Anonymous said...

recognisable

Ravenblack said...

Thanks to each of you. :) I'm glad the poem worked out and that the mystery I attempted came across.

Anonymous said...

I took it as metaphorical. How we brace against change. The different thing, the new person, the replacement part is never quickly warmed up to. We like what we know. I often feel like that new button.

Anonymous said...

tight writing...pinning down the button... unravelling my imagination

Ravenblack said...

Dark Angel and Becky, thank you for your comments.

@Dark Angel -- thanks for sharing your take on this. I agree, we like we know; it takes a while to accept something new, or a change.

Dave King said...

Aha! Time for an investigation, obviously! A perfect little poem.

Laurie Kolp said...

This says a whole lot... great piece!

Unknown said...

Very nice. Great use of button as metaphor here. The way you detail the others hanging loose, and the other one being too uptight. Very cool depiction here

Anonymous said...

sometimes when i sew a button on, i do it too tight, i like your tern "oversewn"

Jannie Funster said...

Okay, so WHAT happened? I'm guessing some one tried to cover up a tryst? :) The case of the olde new button. :)

Great little poem!

xoox

Ravenblack said...

Dave, Laurie, Fred, Tammy, Jannie, thank you!

Oversewn -- logophilia exercise left over...*g*

Madeleine Begun Kane said...

Lovely poem.

@ami said...

Lovely work. You're making us all think!

{ami}
http://sundrysumthins.wordpress.com/

Ravenblack said...

Thanks Madeleine and Ami! :)