Poem Inspirations in Quilt Camp Week

I had begun to wonder if I could still call myself a poet.  I haven't written much in the way of poetry lately.  Not only that, I haven't even gotten many glimmers of potential poems, which is always a state that worries me.

But this week, the poetry muse has come to visit.  On Tuesday, I scheduled a follow up mammogram and ultrasound for Friday, March 29.  I thought, hmm, Good Friday and a mammogram--all sorts of mortification of the flesh interesting juxtapositions there.  Sure, there's the potential for sacrilegious connections, which makes the possible poem even more tempting. 

This morning, I had a line come to me as I tried to thread my needle:  "She tried to starve herself slender, like a needle."  I looked up the Margaret Atwood poem to make sure I wasn't stealing:  "you fit into me / like a hook into an eye  /  a fish hook / an open eye."  Nope, that's not the direction I was heading.  I envy the brevity of Atwood's poem--something to keep in mind for future experiments.

Let me record some ideas.

Other ways of writing that line:

Like a needle, she tried to starve herself--nope.

She tried to starve herself slender as a needle.  I like this version best.

As I sew today, let me be thinking about where this poem wants to go:  

--There's an eye on one end of the needle, a sharp point on the other.

--The needle observes.  From the vantage point of the sewing basket, the needle sees all.

--If you drop a needle, you may not be able to see it.  But it can still jab you, and maybe leave you hobbled.

--I had a favorite needle once.  I used it to make several quilts.  It had a slight bow--and eventually, it broke in two.

--You can get a variety of needles in a pack that costs just a few dollars.  If you're lucky, one will have an eye you can thread without your magnifying glass.

--How can something so slender come in a variety of thicknesses?

--Threading the needle--getting the right balance, especially in a difficult situation.

--If a needle goes dull, it can be sharpened.  Most people don't know that.  Most people don't have a favorite needle that they are desperate to save.

--The needle keeps company with a variety of _____, but it keeps its own counsel.  Colorful fabrics, colorful thread, the needle silver and solitary.

--Even if you sweep the floor, you might miss the needle (miss in the meaning of not finding it, miss in the meaning of longing for it).