This poem strives to convey the notion of having a lot on your mind. My husband has always talked about this sense of overburdened panic as a box of Christmas lights, which you have to patiently go through, one by one, checking all the bulbs, untangling all the knots, until at the end, you finally have something to string on your Christmas tree.
Often our thoughts feel this way, hopelessly confused, until we take the time to disentangle them, and ourselves from them. Tasks around the house or on the job can seem the same way, all shouting for our attention, each equally petulant when ignored.
My version of this sorting task is a little more sinister, than my husband’s.
Good luck with all the craziness you deal with, in your own life! May it not make you crazy!
The rope is long and full of knots.
The box is full of ropes.
To disentangle Christmas lights:
My fervent wish and hope.
I grab one end and pull it,
But the knot grows tighter still,
As if the rope, unyielding,
Strives to contravene my will.
Each knot, a task; each rope, a tool,
A leash or a garotte.
Before I seek to wield this rope,
I must release the knots!
But how they quiver! How they slither,
Blur, before my eyes!
A hopeless mass. A hopeless task.
A heaping pack of lies.
I summon my resolve, decide
Which chance I dare to take:
The poison fangs, or whiptail,
Of this raging, writhing snake.
Copyright 2021 Andrea LeDew
For a jump rope rhyme for getting out of the mess we’re currently in, read Jump.
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