Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Folding the clothes




On the bed, newly dry socks  
- scatter like colored marbles -

Collarless shirts meditate 
- which one goes to which one -

But folded always, once and twice
- they quiet down, like sleepy children -  

Even big towels fall into predictable squares
- shorts, into smaller squares -

Pants fold and greet themselves, 
- while undergarments relax, deflated balloons -  

Office shirts wrinkle in sleep
- buttons exchange gossips across hangers - 

This is close to a zen moment
- neat piling and tidy tucking in drawers -

Almost like raked stones in Japanese garden,
- before they tumble down like storm clouds -



Posted for:  D'verse Poets Pub - OpenLinkNight - every Tuesday.

From Mayer's Experiments:  Writing household poems 

And this picture made me smile:   


   

67 comments:

  1. nice...there is def zen in folding clothes...and dont tell my wife but i actually enjoy it...smiles..there was a cool book by brother lawrence which talked about him fidning god in doing the dishes...there is def divinity...and peace in the mundane if we look for it...cool piece grace...

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    1. I actually thought of writing about washing dishes..ha..ha....There is also peace in the ritual, which everyone in my family doesn't want to do ~ Thanks for the visit Brian ~

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  2. I am not a good clothes-folder :) I need to take lessons.

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  3. Omy this is true, normally first I separate dark from white clothes (a lot of jueans and black t shirts LOL teens!!)
    hehe!(anyway I love my black t shirts too)
    and the towells and bed clothes I try to wash alone.
    In winter wool pieces and some I whash by hand.
    You know Grace Im so far now and I wasd all by hands but we have a nice wind and all is dry today:)
    I come back Santiago today!
    xx

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    1. I only hand wash when necessary but because of the winter, we can't hang out our clothes outside.

      I would love to dry all the clothes outside, with just the wind ~ Have a safe trip home Gloria ~

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  4. Hmm I just shove them in a drawer, that is a good ritual right? haha faster at least. Although a lot can be seen from the mundane indeed.

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  5. You make folding laundry a delightful task :) actually I agree there is a zen quality to folding laundry. :)

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    1. I actually have no choice :-) Thanks for the visit Ayala ~

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  6. Oh, I can picture this so very well. Everything folded in a particular way. I don't know about you, but I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing a pile of freshly washed, neatly folded clothing!

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  7. nice...love the buttons gossiping...ha...you never know what the laundry really is doing when no one watches....they quiet down, like sleepy children.. you really gave them personality..i like much

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  8. Love the picture--I wish there was a folder. Sigh. If not that, then the next time I fold laundry, I will remember this ;)

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  9. FUNNY--I wash dishes and do laundry, enjoy both, often have poetic visions.
    YOU did it SO WELL...I lived every moment here!

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  10. I could never write poetry abou folding. Ironing that's another thing.,. That's poetry.

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  11. I think for my mother this is STILL her deepest mindfulness meditation practice. For me, it happens spontaneously while washing dishes, something about the warm water and the focus on scrubbing things clean, the embodied motion, doing/being all at once. Beautiful, beautiful poem, I enjoyed it very much:-)

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  12. Love this meditation on laundry - honestly, my favorite chore! Really liked it written in couplets - very nice! K

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  13. There is a bit of calm in the process of folding clothes... a comforting routine, but one I could do without! haha

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  14. There are always things in a lifetime you will probably never see in the same sentance, folding clothes and a zen moment is one of them ;-)

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  15. We can do Zen anywhere. I'll have to try this method. Enjoyed that.

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  16. Im a sucker for taking everyday items and using them to convey a greater meaning. I absolutely loved this!

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  17. I like the sleepy imagery and how you carried it through your poem. I also like how you formed your couplets, very nice.

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  18. There are certain chores I hate, but some like dishes and laundry and even cooking can be so comforting in their routine. But I'm not going to lie. Some days, I feel overwhelmed by the mundane. I suppose the goal is to find the zen, as you say, in every moment. Enjoyed this one!

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  19. I love how you took the basic mundane moment and made it a zazen. Superb mindfulness here. Loved it.

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  20. I'm, taking in ironoing, if you're interested ;)

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    1. Ha..ha... I am really amused by the various reactions ~ Thanks for the offer ~

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  21. Scatter like colored marbles - brilliant image and line. Captured the mundane and made beauty of it. well done

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  22. Oh wow, love how you make the mundane come alive, this could change the way I do housework... ha ha! I loved the buttons gossiping over hangers, all this excitement going on...I suppose it could be a zen moment when you look at it like that...fun write.

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  23. It's amazing how zen like, everyday activities can be. Great write.

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  24. I fold clothes on the bed, too. And, indeed, it is a very zen-like activity. You help me realize how much I actually can enjoy it. I like the personifications of the clothes lying down etc.

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  25. This was funny..the never ending laundry..finding matching socks in the scheme of life. Really liked this line:

    - buttons exchange gossips across hangers -

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  26. I like the personification you've used. For me, laundry is always so stressful so I got a kick of out the picture you shared. I like the idea of marbles and chaos and then the zen of everything being in its place / peaceful.

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  27. Neat and precise, mirroring your topic, i particularly enjoyed: 'once and twice
    - they quiet down, like sleepy children' Lovely!

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  28. Ha, how true. I spend time folding, and put the clothes away in either a cramped drawer of closet shelves I end up knocking down to get gripped at about my mess. Very nice format too. Great words and sound. I like alot.

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  29. I love finding the zen in these ordinary chores, they each have their own soothing rhythm, their own small satisfaction, and you've captured that perfectly here.

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  30. This is how I feel when I do my laundry! I had a wonderful time reading this, and the cartoon was hilarious! (My husband needs a folding machine.)

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  31. great characterisation. fitted sheets are my arch enemies of folding.
    i admit i am a bit unfoldy generally. perhaps i need to zen it =)

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  32. So lively and fun. My favorite line is "Even big towels fall into predictable squares." The whole poem works and is wonderful.

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  33. Ah, zen and clothes- what a link! i'm bowled over by the thought stream in the poem. Great work!

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  34. doing clothes can be meditative now i come to think about it, love the analogy to the zen garden, that was a keen connection. Really fine write here, love the way you took an ordinary activity and poeticized it so effectively. Enjoyed. Thanks

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  35. A wonderful demonstration of finding peace/God/poetry in every day life, Grace. The book Brian referred to is called Practicing the Presence of God; it's a classic.

    Getting clothes dry here can be pretty trying; we now seem to have two seasons, the cold wet season - aka summer, and the colder wet season - aka winter :-(

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    1. Thank you for the recommendation Tony ~ Will check out the classic book ~

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  36. Lovely - but it does beg the question as to why mine don't do that!

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  37. Yes! Extended metaphor and zen moment. My favorite is: "Office shirts wrinkle in sleep / - buttons exchange gossips across hangers - " I would not wish for the third machine. I love folding order out of chaos, though I do not force regulation. Ironing, however, is another story.

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  38. Helps to take time out to think too, joy can be found in the mundane.

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  39. ...ha, i wish i could fold my clothes with such passion Grace... but you clearly reminded me of mum in her full grace, delicately folding our dressess as if she'll never get tired nor feel bored doing so for the rest of her life...and i never understood not until today reading your beautiful piece... smiles...

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  40. I love how you managed to take a chore so many of us dislike and turned into something some light and easy-- something I shall remember every time I fold my laundry! ~peace, Jason

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  41. There 're many ways of arranging our clothes, and many ways of arranging ourselves....we often forget how we're brimming with our beingness, therefore folding towels,doing laundry or cleaning the floor can be transforming, prayerful , peaceful, joyful.....

    Your verses portray that meditation is'nt about doing but being.
    Thankyou dear Grace for these thoughts to ponder upon.
    hugs

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  42. Brilliant! You have managed to make the ordinary, extraordinary. I shall never fold clothes again without recalling this remarkable poem. I loved it!

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  43. a lighter look at a zen moment or routine..I couldn't help think, at least for me, how heavy laundry is before it is folded and put away..;)

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  44. Grace, you have altered my view on folding clothes, taking it to an all time new level. Nicely done.

    Pamela

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  46. This is delightful and so original!

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  47. If only it all happened so automatically! ;-)

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  48. I love the idea of a machine to fold my clothes.

    Also, you asked me quite a while back if you could use my images for your haiku posts. That is fine as long as you credit the photos to me.

    Sorry for the late reply.

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  49. Not just the indented couplet form, which is inspirational enough, but the way your unexpected metaphors tumble from each stanza opening, like dominos - that's wonderful!

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  50. You made folding laundry an exciting and inspiring thing to do. :-) Only in the hands of a talented writer could things one seeks to avoid be a zen moment. :-)

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  51. a sense of orderliness before chaos!! typical in very house called home! :)

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  52. Loved the imagery Grace. Loved the buttons exchanging gossip! Some really brilliant lines here :)

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  53. Aahhh....Another weekly ritual that i loathe to the most....though I am still doing it and MIGHT continue...I am surprised how come you are enjoying this boring work...to the extent that you find it worth writing on...:)

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  54. I would that we were 20 somethings still and just had to grab something out of a bag or basket, smell it to see if it was clean still and call it good enough.

    I LOVE the way you brought the ending about. So much contemplation of the effort in building the walls of the fort cleanliness only to see them tumble. And so the building goes on...and on...and on.

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  55. I love this, and the cartoon is for sure my wish! :-)

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  56. I enjoyed the mellow feeling through this write, Grace. I love to fold and iron clothing, I like the quiet time all to myself and the satisfaction when I'm done,,

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  57. Ohw! This is so different! I never read such kind of poem. Poem on folding clothes - Great!!
    Beautifully written Grace :)

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  58. This made me smile! The socks like marbles, undergarments like deflated balloons - thanks for the smiles/laughs today! Oh and of course, the office shirts that gossip made me laugh too!

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