Believed to be Beautiful: Doily

"Somebody embroidered the doily.

Somebody waters the plant,

or oils it, maybe. Somebody

arranges the rows of cans

so that they softly say:

esso—so—so—so

to high-strung automobiles.

Somebody loves us all. "

-Elizabeth Bishop, from "Filling Station"

Today's beautiful comes courtesy of Lisa Solomon, and honestly, should have made its appearance here long, long ago when I was the lucky recipient of its glory after a drawing on her website. It is so delicate, so lovely, and at the same time, it is a reminder of everything I've known growing up - the strength of creating, the stability of the knotting, knitting, stitching, and gathering of threads by human hands. Often, at work at my desk, I run my hands over the tiny raise of the vinyl on the glass and I imagine that it's a kind of braille that tells the story of my childhood through the possibility of the future.