Yes, I have been Mending II (A Little Travesty)

Hazel Hall’s poem ‘Mending’ reveals mending as a subversive act, an act of defiance, ‘a little travesty.’ Those who disagree with the current administration must put aside our shock and grief at the loss for what we thought America was, and fight for American ideals, to mend what is broken in this country.

Those who work in textiles have a long history of political activism.  Like Betsy Ross.  Or Madame Defarge.  Watch Threads of Resistance for many political art quilts, or little travesties.

Yes, I have been Mending II, 32 x 33.5” 2017

 

Yes, I have been Mending II, detail

The full text of the poem is here:

Mending

Hazel Hall

Here are old things:
Fraying edges,
Ravelling threads;
And here are scraps of new goods,
Needles and thread,
An expectant thimble,
A pair of silver-toothed scissors.
Thimble on a finger,
New thread through an eye;
Needle, do not linger,
Hurry as you ply.
If you ever would be through
Hurry, scurry, fly!
Here are patches,
Felled edges,
Darned threads,
Strengthening old utility,
Pending the coming of the new.
Yes, I have been mending …
But also,
I have been enacting
A little travesty on life.

 

 

 

One thought on “Yes, I have been Mending II (A Little Travesty)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.