Whoa! I wrote this several years ago when I didn't know that time and distance would give me a broader and more nuanced perspective. But still, for me, there is truth in this complicated allegory. We all know life can get complicated .
FYI: I wouldn't know how to interpret this for you, so I'll be interested in what you may or may not get from it.
Love
kj
Because
I know the most about this, I have to be the one to fold it over and inside out so it still looks and feels like the same soft sweater that fits in every nip and tuck but the trying on and taking off stops for once and all. It’s too late to side step the price tag-- imbedded charges with accumulating interest—but still, I wouldn’t change the cost even if I could, which I can’t .
There are certain steps that must be taken today. There is no return-of-goods counter—just a “you buy it, you own it” policy with fine print I didn’t read then and don’t want to read now. I know I must hem the predestined pleats and complicated seams, iron out past and future wrinkles caused by sitting still too long, air out the fabric so it remains pure and air fresh. Meanwhile, even though I’m dressed to the hilt, I’ll still carry those tarot sticks near and far, carry them because I freely picked them up to begin with, and I want to hold onto even the smallest branch. I’ll be taking one step after another on my way to town, even though the one-day- all-out tag sale is for naught.
If destiny has another plan, I’ll be there, waiting first in line for the doors to open. But there is no special sale on this day. There is no discount or resizing that can make this anything other than what it is. It is not that. It is only this. And what it is is so inestimable I will spend the better part of my life on the budget plan, making regular payments into an account where withdrawals will be scarce, (but worth every penny?) I can purchase only what I have paid for, and I can take home only certain sizes even if they’re wrong for the circumstance. I came here freely and knowingly. I knew then there was no warranty, but the fit was so exquisitely perfect I made a deal with destiny. I would carry the sticks and accept the conditions in exchange for the moments when the fit came straight from God’s designer.
Meanwhile, under a canopy of shining stars, we dance and then we linger. And then, always, once more, we are free.
Hmmmmm. I don't think I am very good at this.
ReplyDeleteMy first thoughts when people talk about sweaters are of soft and cozy relationships. But then the feeling quickly changed and I began to think more in terms of a relationship that has become more of an obligation. Something maybe like an family member with long term care needs, or perhaps an unhappy marriage. The last line makes me think that in this relationship, that has now become a burden, that there were once joyful times, free of whatever weight is now smothering it and so the memories of the past are happy.
I found this to be very bitter sweet. But more bitter than sweet.
insightful and wise, your interpretation, 8. xoxo
DeleteEvery sweater comes with consequences, good and bad. And not all sweaters are available to us. Me, I've bought too many sweaters.
ReplyDeleteI too, cs. the worse is when it's the best sweater but the wrong fit :^)
ReplyDeletelove
kj
There is something very peaceful about that line: the fit came straight from God's designer. And then there is this line:
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, under a canopy of shining stars, we dance and then we linger. And then, always, once more, we are free.
Exquisite, KJ.
xoxo
amanda, i love your observations and comments. xoxoxo thank you.
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