SORTING THE WOOL
I am helping my mother
sort the wool.
This pile we will keep
to spin into yarn for weaving
because its strands
are long and unbroken.
This pile we will sell
to the trader.
Its strands are broken and short.
The trader will buy it,
but he will not pay as much
as if it were all long.
I wish that all our wool
was of long, unbroken strands.
I like to sort the wool.
It is good to feel its softness,
like making words for something
my heart has always known.
