Laundry is such a great topic for a poem, and you really get to the heart of it here. Everyday chores really are acts of love. I’ve folded a lot of laundry for my family and you are so right about each crease holding a prayer. And when I think about how my kids clothes have changed in size over their lives it’s such a meditation on the passage of time and growth. Another great one.
Thank you, Tara! And, yes, on the topic of clothing and growth: I really love exploring the ways objects hold us and care for us over time. And it always seems like the humblest things get imbued with the most meaning. Like, I've saved up for fancy shoes before, and then worn them twice. Yet I've purchased t-shirts on a whim that I still wear a decade later.
Thank you for the comment and the food for thought! :)
Inside of this measuring stick called a line is the breath of your poem. See, how you breathe in then out, your best-washed thoughts at the end or beginning of letters strung on a clothesline of air.
The bigger inhale is a stanza, a crisp paragraph of words, thoughts stacked as neat as laundry, folded, ready to wear, just waiting for you to say them.
The languages of love, myself and my husband have very different ones, but one in common, beyond words. This is a timely reminder of acts of service, also a language beyond words.
This poems reminds me that it's the simple kindnesses that make all the difference. I don't need to do something dramatic to show my love. I'm inspired to write a poem about this.
The attention and awareness in the act of taking care of your home and your self can indeed be a meditation in itself but i really like how when doing it as a parent or carer for another the act becomes a meditation or prayer for them.
Laundry is such a great topic for a poem, and you really get to the heart of it here. Everyday chores really are acts of love. I’ve folded a lot of laundry for my family and you are so right about each crease holding a prayer. And when I think about how my kids clothes have changed in size over their lives it’s such a meditation on the passage of time and growth. Another great one.
Thank you, Tara! And, yes, on the topic of clothing and growth: I really love exploring the ways objects hold us and care for us over time. And it always seems like the humblest things get imbued with the most meaning. Like, I've saved up for fancy shoes before, and then worn them twice. Yet I've purchased t-shirts on a whim that I still wear a decade later.
Thank you for the comment and the food for thought! :)
i love laundry poems so much!
Thank you, Mohika! Do you have a favorite laundry poem?
I do!!
The Short and Long of It
Inside of this measuring stick called a line is the breath of your poem. See, how you breathe in then out, your best-washed thoughts at the end or beginning of letters strung on a clothesline of air.
The bigger inhale is a stanza, a crisp paragraph of words, thoughts stacked as neat as laundry, folded, ready to wear, just waiting for you to say them.
—Marjorie Maddox Hafer
Oh, that's lovely! Thank you for sharing. 🙏
This was so wholesome ♥️
Thank you for reading, Heena! 😊
The languages of love, myself and my husband have very different ones, but one in common, beyond words. This is a timely reminder of acts of service, also a language beyond words.
Thank you for the comment! I do enjoy using poetry to explore things that are difficult to express in words. :)
That's the draw with poetry isn't it? Those things beyond words. The magnet I keep been pulled towards.
That first stanza is everything I love, not just about writing, but poetry as well!
Thank you, Daniel! 🙏
I find this poem lovely, as we do laundry for someone to show our love and for them to be safe.
Thank you, mpoetry! I really appreciate the comment. 🙏
This poems reminds me that it's the simple kindnesses that make all the difference. I don't need to do something dramatic to show my love. I'm inspired to write a poem about this.
Thank you for the comment, LeeAnn! And if you do write a poem in this vein, I'd love to read it. :)
This made me think of this book: a monks guide to a clean house and mind.
https://books.google.ie/books/about/A_Monk_s_Guide_to_a_Clean_House_and_Mind.html?id=vYorDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&gboemv=1&ovdme=1&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
The attention and awareness in the act of taking care of your home and your self can indeed be a meditation in itself but i really like how when doing it as a parent or carer for another the act becomes a meditation or prayer for them.
Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you, David! And that book looks interesting. I'll have to check it out. :)
A lovely piece on love and laundry. ❤️
Thank you, Kim! 😊