Saturday, September 3, 2016

Mikaela Castledine #239 Marked

Marked

When I was 15
I handwove a waistcoat
it was still the seventies then
and dexterous were my fingers
my concentration early acquired
all fibres spun and realigned crosswise
on a cut shaped warp
it won a prince’s prize at the royal show
funny how I had not remembered that
how I had been prized

When I was 12
I was graded badly
for a sewing sampler
lessons from another century
a task I had enjoyed
and learned much from
tearful were the stains that landed
strange that I have never forgotten
how I have been marked

5 comments:

  1. Mikaela, You have really brought back memories for me here. And what we remember. I remember early sewing well, in class, the difficulty, so much to learn, especially for me not naturally dextrous, perhaps genetically wired to be less dextrous, then later, learning it. All about learning. It is sad, the marking.

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  2. Yes Mikaela the mark! The challenge set I tried and made a shirt once upon a time not too shabby. But the mark - there's a story(or few) thank you for these words.

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  3. oh yes, "and learned much from" says it all really. How this is never seen, and can't be marked.

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  4. Thank you all. I think what I remember most is the disappointment of thinking I had done well and finding I had not, a universal theme perhaps, as children quickly learn to dampen expectation to avoid disappointment. Since I went on to become a textile artist I probably retain the memory more as a screw you moment! xM

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