On Thread

Posted on June 11, 2009
Filed Under Aphorisms | 4 Comments

A loose thread protruding from my favorite sweater. So this is what everything hangs by, this is what holds it all together. A thread can never relax; it shrivels if you cut it too much slack. Tension is the only thing that gives it shape, purpose. It gladly bears the stress even as it starts to fray around the edges. Once shorn from its pattern, though, a thread becomes lost, distraught, useless as a snapped violin string, a coil of old rope. This no doubt explains a thread’s tenacity, knowing how quickly things unravel, that clinging is its only strength.

A version of this abbreviated essay appears in the June-July issue of Ode.

Comments

4 Responses to “On Thread”

  1. Drew Byrne on June 12th, 2009 3:28 pm

    So it goes…

  2. Candadai Tirumalai on June 13th, 2009 1:07 pm

    “Thread” has rich metaphoric uses in English. “I have lost the thread of his argument.” “I cannot thread the events of the last 18 hours.” “She cautiously threaded her way through the throng.”

  3. marty rubin on June 14th, 2009 12:46 pm

    Loose threads? Maybe they enjoy just hanging out.

  4. marty rubin on July 1st, 2009 11:54 am

    Life: loose ends without a common thread.

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