Starting Over

A sad man with a long face
sits on an antique chair
in an empty warehouse
slowly unraveling a handmade sweater.

Skeins of green and white wool
softly pull free
and coil in on themselves,
unmaking an imperfect
unfinished
labour of love.

The form disappears,
but the hands never forget
the rough touch of the wool.

A string snaps;
a world comes apart;
a sweater becomes two off-color balls of yarn—

pulling out the past one stitch at a time
and starting over.

~ Patrick M. Pilarski

Patrick M. Pilarski lives in Edmonton, Canada, with his oolong tea and far too many tea pots. He is currently pursuing a graduate degree in computer engineering at the University of Alberta, and is the co-editor of DailyHaiku. His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in a variety of print and online journals, recently including Other Voices, Frogpond, fait accomplit, contemporary haibun online, and on CBC Radio One. Patrick recently released his first chapbook of haiku and haibun: Five Weeks.

One Response to “Starting Over”

  1. I like the slightly haunted quality of this poem.

    It’s like a painting , saying more in the shadows and silent spaces than in the words. The mood created by the unanswered is very effective, I think.

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