Poems by Larry Schug

Mending Mittens

by Larry Schug

From Canary Winter 2020-21

Larry lives in the Mississippi River-Sartell watershed alongside a "forever" conservation easement which includes part of a large tamarack bog, also preserved. Other inhabitants include white-tail deer, wild turkeys, beaver, otters, muskrats, sandhill cranes, great blue and green herons, turtles, tree frogs and many species of songbirds.

Mending my leather mittens
for the third time this winter,
I sew them with waxed string
made to repair fishing nets,
hoping they’ll last
until the splitting maul rests
against the shrunken woodpile
and the hoe and spade come out of the shed.
I find myself praying.
Blessed be those who have laced together
the splits at the seams of this world,
repair its threads of twisted waters.
Blessed be those who stitch together
the animals and the land,
repair the rends in the fabric
of wolf and forest,
of whale and ocean,
of condor and sky.
Blessed be those who are forever fixing
the tear between people and the rest of life.
May we all have enough thread,
may our needles be sharp,
may our fingers not throb or go numb.
May each of us find an apprentice,
someone who will take the needle from our hands,
continue all the mending that needs to be done.

Previously published in Your Daily Poem.