Bead Work
Love isn’t measured in
sneezes from ragweed kisses
in moments or hours
all black or white.
It’s a handworked hide,
spirit canvas
stitched in sinew
dyed in heartblood
shrunk with spleen
chewed by dulled teeth
beaded complete
with patience and art,
sewn for robes
soft and warming
that may or
may not
fit.
October 2011
Posted for Friday Flash 55 at the G-Man's
After much searching through the dusty archives of the hedgewitchian vault deep below the castle, fighting zombie spiders and stuff, I finally unearthed this artifact. Only for you, Galen.
Image: Cheyenne Shirt at Woolaroc[museum], Oklahoma By Wolfgang Sauber
(Own work) [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0
(www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)],
via Wikimedia Commons
Find out more about Woolaroc, near Bartlesville OK,"...established in 1925 as the ranch retreat of oilman Frank Phillips. The ranch is a ...3700 acre wildlife preserve, home to many species of native and exotic wildlife,....[and] also a museum with a collection of western art and artifacts, American Indian material, and one of the largest collections of Colt firearms in the world." here at ~wikipedia
The commitment and artistry of the American Indian woman...
ReplyDeleteWell that would suck if you put all that into it and it didnt fit.
"chewed by dull teeth."
ReplyDeleteBeautiful.
Joy, I just wonder how such native communities (some still around in tropical forests) were able to produce fantastic creations. Not forgetting materials and tools were primitive. Great verse!
ReplyDeleteHank
Vaulted or not....
ReplyDeleteI didn't have to Google anything, sooooo...
I Loved Your 55!!!!!
I really liked everything about your post.
Fantastic Imagry...Loved your Pic.
Thanks for playing, and have a Kick Ass Week-End
Love the part about how it's chewed by dull teeth, and that it may or may not fit.
ReplyDeleteThanks for another Friday 55!
Mine's here. :)
So much work - I hope they fit.
ReplyDeleteso much time and effort and love and such beauty as a result.
ReplyDeleteRagweed kisses are very real. (Though something I don't much like to contemplate. Or remember.)
ReplyDeletehaha that may or may not fit...yep, but i will keep chewing...really like that turn to your definition...great piece hedge...
ReplyDeleteSneezes are about all I've got these days -- oh, and this glowing red nose. ;)
ReplyDeleteLoved the imagery in your poem. It was prettier than the shirt -- which is pretty stunning.
Ouch, all that work, but no satisfaction guaranteed. I guess what is crafted must be freely given, and hopefully the crafter will benefit, even if the fit is off.
ReplyDeleteThe preserve sounds great. I'm glad an oilman left something good behind. ;)
Yes .. I think of all that "bead work" as the million unremarkable moments we invest in the name of a quality, not a fact, for a verb which no garment will ever fully fit. So what's the difference, anyway, between love and poetry? And unlike any love I've encountered -- especially the good, lasting ones -- This 55 fits perfectly; some of your others seem to strain to fit inside their terse corsets. (I'd be lucky to shimmy my whale's caboose through a sleeve like this. And you should see me in our narrow kitchen ....) -- Brendan
ReplyDeleteOne of your very best... on one of my very favs!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Now THAT is what I call true art!
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely. A real work of art.
ReplyDeleteMy 55
That is painstaking work well versed.
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful artifact - a celebration of culture.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...I hardly noticed your picture, only the love that creates the handworked hide in patience and art over time. Robes soft and warming also brings to mind the velveteen rabbit loved to shabbiness.
ReplyDeleteYou are my dear lady Word-Seamstress. How you sew and weave and stitch a whole poem so meaningfully. Love your art.
ReplyDeleteThis 55 is as beautiful as that shirt, Hedge. Native American artifacts are amazing in their natural beauty that was crafted from patience and love... "spirit canvas" indeed ~
ReplyDeleteI would say something snarky, but I'm afraid MZ might scalp me and burn down my village.
ReplyDelete"chewed by dull teeth" is the line that tells me most about the love. I can practically feel the velvety leather... and am definitely feeling your 55.
ReplyDeleteThanks, lydia--yes, chewing hide will wear down your molars. ;-)
ReplyDelete@Ann: One of my favorite books as a child. Thanks for stopping by.
@Ruth: I'm sure everything in that preserve was pillaged, stolen or bought ridiculously cheap from disenfranchised native Americans--but at least it's preserved somewhere. On my list of daytrips but have never made it up there.
@B: Glad one of my 55's has found favor in your eye despite it's brevity. (And at least you have your own underwater kitchen in which your whale attributes all fit nicely.)