Each day there seems less of me.
Folding in on myself,
there is a sense I can crisp my edges,
find the perfect bend,
turn blemishes in and under,
tucked away out of sight.
Any tattered edges can be smoothed,
rebound into covers
tight enough to stop my spilling out.
An ache tells me that I use to spread
all these pages of myself
out across open floors and tables,
revel in how much of me there was.
When did it become a shrinking,
less is more,
best kept out of sight
and out of mind?
Carol J Forrester 
“An ache tells me that I use to spread all these pages of myself out across open floors and tables,
revel in how much of me there was,”… this is so poignant!
Enjoyable read
Thank you Ron.
Last 4 lines are the deepest, hardest to answer question, eh? I love the metaphor , Carol.
Thank you Ron. It’s a little too easy to get wrapped up in yourself during lockdown, I think DVerse has been fantastic in ensuring that some sense of community remains in the creative spheres.
I love this. The metaphor resonates.
Thank you, I’m so glad to hear.
Welcome Carol
A lovely poem … I so enjoyed listening/watching as you read earlier today. Stay well.
Thank you Helen. Take care as well.
I enjoyed your reading at our live OLN and smiled broadly on reading it again this morning, in a different light. You really captured the feeling of losing oneself during the pandemic. Your poem reminded me of doing origami in my childhood – I even had a book and, when my grandmother could afford it, special paper! The lines I identify with are:
‘Any tattered edges can be smoothed,
rebound into covers
tight enough to stop my spilling out’
and
‘…I used to spread
all these pages of myself
out across open floors and tables,
revel in how much of me there was.’
I really enjoy origami, though there are a few types where I’ve got stuck part way through and just not been able to work out what witchcraft has been employed to make a certain fold.
After writing this I’m trying to make more of an effort to be creative and make plans for later this year. Hopefully we’ll get to return to some sort of normality.
Nice images – one to remember.
Thank you Cathy.
I love the image of an ‘origami self.’ It’s true that many of our worlds have become more internalised over the past year. We lack external connections and sometimes its hard to feel like we even exist!
Exactly. I also worry that some of the wonderful community projects that existed before the lockdowns won’t come back once things are under control again.
‘Folding in on myself’ that’s a great metaphor and you’ve carried it so great!
Thank you
I love the thought of folding into yourself… partly I know the feeling … it’s soon been one year since I started working from home.