i thought i liked my hands better
when they were covered
in grit.
cuz my mommy
she told me
you better be grateful.
for a hand that can pick up the shards
of what gets hurled
and manage to keep
all of that inside
from leaking out.
Posted Apr 24, 2022, 4:53 PM UTC
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This is particularly interesting to me because I found myself contemplating the callouses on my hands this afternoon while I was outside getting my garden ready.
My initial interpretation of this piece was that it was about taking pride in manual labor, because that's what I associate with callouses and gritty hands. But then I read it again and really took in that last segment. Now it seems to be more about emotional 'grit', our ability to keep our emotions to ourselves, and the callouses that may form around our hearts as a result. What an interesting mental juxtaposition!
The ending, about keeping what's inside from leaking out, reminded me of Bukowski's 'Bluebird' poem, which carries a similar sentiment. Nice.
One thing I'd consider changing might be the use of past tense in the first line. Do you presently think you like your hands better or is is it something you thought before? If it's past tense, I'm interested to know what changed since then.
You really made a connection with this poem. Thank you for sharing it.
Your interpretation really hit it on the nail. I’m glad the message got across. I can see how the tenses would cause confusion; thanks for pointing that out and for all of your kind words!