My Faithful Tapestry (A Love Poem)
Once upon a time…
There was a man
who could not stand
to be alone.
He took a wife
to share his life
and warm his bed.
A weaver of fine tapestry,
proud of my self-sufficiency,
I was of independent means.
I took pride
that people far and wide
sought my craft.
We made a home
and he was not alone
but it wasn’t enough.
He wanted to be my moon and sun.
“I should be the only one.
the light of your life.”
Despite my tears and pleas
he unraveled my tapestries.
“You need nothing more than me.”
“But you knew from the start,
this is my life, my heart.
Without it I’m simply not me.”
“I want to be loved,” he cried.
“That need won’t be denied.
Is that so wrong?”
He set his sights on another lady, fair
with a warm smile and flaxen hair.
He offered her his love.
When she refused his charms,
he sought comfort in my arms;
me, his forsaken wife.
I saw his ache
and tried to fake
that he hadn’t broken my heart.
I hid my loom
in a secret room
and worked alone at night.
I tried to hide
the hurt inside,
like the warp behind the weft.
On my tapestry frame
I wove through the pain
of sorrow and despair.
When I was through,
I knew what to do.
I told my husband:
“Among my bobbins and skeins,
one truth remains:
my work will always be there.
It will never leave,
It will never deceive.
It is more faithful than any man.”
So although he wept and begged me to stay,
I said, “No, I am going away.”
And I lived happily ever after.
How many of us women give over to much of ourselves to the men (and/or family) in our lives. What a beautiful metaphor for this.
Well, it’s what we do. But we can’t give so much of ourselves away that there’s nothing left.
That’s beautiful, and strong, and empowering. I will happily share it with my peeps. I am glad I saw your post in Reba’s group today.
Thank you. I’m grateful to see it shared.
I love the imagery, metaphors and message of the poem.
Thank you.
What a profound poem, Devorah. Oh, if all young women (all women, actually) could absorb the depth of the wisdom here. Thank you.
Thank you.
Beautiful poem which brings to mind the notion of ‘either or’ instead of inclusion of all. I think this is what the expression ‘we can have it all’ really means – not every consumable, rather we can shine a light on all we are and be proud of every bit of what makes each of us the unique beings we are. We can use curiosity to explore who we are so we can discover more about ourselves and truly know who we are so we can ‘have it all’.
Thank you. Sometimes it looks like we can’t have it all and have to chose what’s most important. But then we realize that what we gave us wasn’t so important after all.
that should be “gave up”
Thank you. I’m glad that I decided to share it.
Really nice
Thank you Devorah. Like a tapestry this poem is so rich and varied, like our life and our relationships. I noticed I stopped breathing, with the tension increasing, and then rested, just like the ending, in peace.
Karin
Karin, that’s a wonderful compliment. Thank you. I’m glad for the peaceful resolution.
To be fair, the poem arose not from my relationship with my late husband who was my most loyal supporter and cheerleader, but from other circumstances wherein I had to assert and defend what was inherently important to me.