In this box lies an invitation to be creative.
Pieces of, as yet, blank cloth,
silky yarns of many colours,
Scissors, needles.
My mind begins to imagine intertwined threads
to fashion an embroidery that might last for years,
or be tossed aside as an embarrassing memento.
But for now, will focus me on whatever may develop,
as my tentative needle steers.
Will it be a poem with a profound insight
drawn from a favourite anthology?
Or maybe, keep it simple,
like a sampler a,b,c.
Could it become a significant building
that has imposed its grandeur on my heart?
Or maybe a depiction of our home,
wherein the essence of our lives
will be what I endeavour to impart.
Perhaps it will become a threaded seascape
turbulent or balmy calm;
possibly a boat riding tranquil at its anchor
or in the grip of a monumental storm?
Ah! Might I be daring enough to attempt,
within the fourteen-structure grid
a glimpse of the mighty cosmos?
A woven hint of nebula?
Or a guess at the appearance of a black hole?
So many possible scenarios in God’s mighty universe,
of which my stitched fabrication would be
a minuscule representation
of an awesome cosmic whole.
October 2025: CCW exercise
This poem came about as the result of a Cambridge Christian Writers’ meeting. At each meeting a writing challenge is set, sandwiched by two Zoom sessions. The challenge was to write a short piece about a 'Toolkit for life’ taking one of three objects as the focal point. The three were a Work Box, A Tool box or a Laundry Basket. For me, this felt a marvellous moment to revisit an earlier part of my life when I felt inspired to do embroideries whilst watching TV (and for several more hours each week). The way in which a space-themed embroidery could take shape from the tentative first stitches in the middle of the 14 count material was, I found a delight. So I enjoyed the 35minute exercise and the subsequent editing/ polishing to shape ‘The Work Box’ as an expression of the wonder of human life in the unimaginable depth of the Universe.
It was interesting that other members (all female) who too ’The Work Box' as their theme brought back much more practical/ grounded pieces than mine! Pieces that evoked memories of patching and mending and the people in the author’s life who they associated with a Work Box.
I am grateful to Yvonne who set the challenge: it evoked a wide response and we all learned a little more about our fellow group members.