String Theory

From other

angles the

fibers look

fragile, but

not from the

spider's, always

hauling coarse

ropes, hitching

lines to the

best posts

possible. It's

heavy work

everyplace,

fighting sag,

winching up

give. It

isn't ever

delicate

to live.

-Kay Ryan, "Spiderweb"

As National Poetry Month winds to a close, I've been thinking of these lines, mulling over their deceptive simplicity. I wanted to share them here, just in case you fall into the same trap I do - the trap of believing that a life lived well is clean, simple, delicate. Every once in a while I like the idea of championing the work of it, the scaffolding, the mess of it at times.