Ode To My Hands

I am slowly recovering from a bout of strep throat. I am off medication but still feel weak and dizzy. Hopefully that will subside. Because of this, my weekend plans were scrapped. I did read a lot of Slice of Life blog posts and catch up on my twitter feeds. Through that process I read several posts from Kevin at dogtrax.edublogs.org. He wrote about a project called #walkingmyworld and even posted a photo montage of what he sees on the way to work. This got me thinking about what I see on a daily basis. I have also been reading beautiful odes of Pablo Neruda. His ability to take a small item and highlight its importance is perfect as a slice of life entry. Although I didn’t go on my backpacking trip as planned, I did some house cleaning, typed emails, tweeted and made lunch. All of these activities required the use of my hands. I thought I would write an ode to my hands.

Ode to My Hands

When I take a good look at my hands,

they astound me.

With their  lines on the palms and wrinkled knuckles

evidence of where they have been,

what they have seen.

They spell out a  story of hard work

From the bump on the pointer finger,

a bump born out of writing,

from pressing too hard on the pencil

year after year in school,

to the nearly healed scab on the thumb

from a painful encounter with

a grater last week.

They speak to me about the work they have done today.

Of the dishes washed, vegetables chopped and tea poured.

Fingers that clack away at keys, perched lightly and at the ready

for the next thought to form

Thumbs that grip the coffee mug tightly in one’s hands.

Palms that lift dishes onto shelves,

safely tucked away.

Steady hands that work tirelessly to do the everyday tasks,

without fail, without nudging.

Dutiful hands hard at work

day after day.

 

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5 Comments

  1. I am sure Kevin would think your Ode is Awesome! I love the way you noticed so much about those appendages at the ends of our arms!

  2. Wow great poem! I like how you talked about your hands and how they tell a story! I thought that was really cool because it really makes us think how much our hands do for us each day. We have a lot to be grateful for!

  3. That was a great poem and influenced me to try and write an ode. Note the word try.

  4. nickoprather88beep

    March 24, 2014 at 11:30 am

    Great poem very descriptive. And i think Im going to make an ode to my feet.

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