The Dilemma of the Spindle
By Gerri Leen
We are but simple instruments,
servants of women,
useful as we turn fiber into yarn,
into things that hold
their precious lives together.
But I serve no simple women,
only one who wishes ill
and one who wishes better.
They both seek control.
Dual magics war inside me.
Taste the blood and kill.
Taste the blood and put to sleep.
But to taste the blood,
I must be sharp; I must prick,
no matter whom I serve.
I feel my end lengthen
and slim to a pin prick.
And so the tool decides.
To kill: the magic is pure hate.
To sleep: the magic surges
with regret and with...hope.
These things taste good.
She will sleep.
I will not kill.
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4 comments:
wow. What a wonderful pov for a poem. I would never have thought of that. I love the face that it's not a simple tool and has some choice.
This is a very unique poem that opened my eyes greatly after reading a couple times. It’s interesting how much importance was placed on a simple spindle in some of the fairy tales. This is probably due to the spindle being used quite frequently during times when these tales were written. These spindles, “are but simple instruments,” show how much control a spindle had for women and for the fate of some. There was more to a spindle in Rumpelstiltskin, for example, because it determined the princess’ fate. I think it’s important to realize what was essential to society back then and compare it with what we use now to understand the fairy tales better. I wonder if we wrote a fairy tale in our society now if we would place more importance on items such as laptops or iPods. Maybe I’m stretching the importance of items in society, but I think it’d be interesting to write a fairy tale in 2010.
Jessica L.
This is a great poem about the emphasis on tangible items in fairy tales. What story do we have in Sleeping Beauty if there is no spindle for beauty to seek? Nothing and everyone stays awake. I love how the poem is written that the spindle has a conscious and a choice. Can we consider the spindle not to be completely evil, knowing it spared the life of sleeping beauty by only putting her to sleep? I first always looked at the old women holding the spindle, now I see the spindle holding the old women. In addition, the poem grabs the attention how the spindle can lure women because of its abilities. In fairy tales, the tangible items seem to always match its maker. I feel there are many other fairy tales that we can consider to play the role of the spindle. The one that jumps at me is the rose in Beauty and the Beast. The rose is a symbolic piece to the story, if the father does not pluck it, then Beauty never comes to Beast.
Terry B.
Reading this poem about the spindle was very intriguing, because it talks about how prominent specific items can become in our lives, and what we are willing to do with them to cause harm to others. The spindle is the specific item here, because this is what many women used when the fairy tales were being written. The action of the spindle is based off of the mood of the woman that is using the spindle. If she is angry and wants to harm someone then the spindle may kill, but if she’s pleasant and just wants someone to suffer a little then the spindle will cause that someone to sleep for a long period of time. But in the end it is the spindle that gets to make the decision, not the woman who is using it. I think if someone would take this poem and write about what prominent object we would use today, it would be very interesting to see what would come out of it, because there are so many objects we have now and to just focus primarily on one would be very difficult. So overall, I think it is pretty cool when you can take an object out of a tale and depict the meaning behind it, because it just gives readers a different point of view on the story. ~Lisa C.
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