SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

August 3, 2007 by Betsy Bird

Poetry Friday – The Collected Works of Susan Ramsey

August 3, 2007 by Betsy Bird   6 comments

This one will probably be best appreciated by the knitters amongst you. 


Mariah Educates the Sensitive

 

In the first place,

you are not allergic to wool.

That lie is the bastard brat

of ignorance, overheating and vanity.

You may be allergic to cats,

angora rabbits,

dust, mold, pollen, the stings of bees,

bad dreams, the semen

of Rh negative men,

or, if you were an axe murderer

in a former existence,

strawberries.  You could be reacting

to chemical dyes, the sulfuric acid

they soak wool in to carbonize the hay,

sheep dip so deeply lethal

it kills on contact, bad vibes

from an old cryptorchid ram, hysteria

or bad karma.  But not wool.

Never wool.

 

Has it ever crossed your mind

that there are breeds,

that each breed extrudes

a different wool?  You buy

a crappy, scratchy,

certainly Suffolk

sweater because you like

the pretty color,

then brag that you’re too sensitive

to wear wool.  What do you know

of Merino, Spanish wool so fine

it makes a grandmother’s love

seem cold and harsh? 

Men were beheaded

for smuggling these sheep. 

You could spend a life

exploring the differences

between Icelandic and Churro,

Black Welsh Mountain,

Finn, Romney, Jacob, Corriedale,

Karakul, Cheviot, Shetland, Lincoln, Leister–

both Border and Blue Faced–

Coopworth, Cormo, Targhee, Wenslydale,

Herdwick, Swaledale,

Cotswold, God forbid,

Dorset, Tunis, Polworth, Rambouillet.

Then you could start on rare breeds.

Don’t get me started.

 

Wool is the perfect fiber,

the only one

which insulates when wet.

Wet cotton, silk,

are out to save themselves, leaching

your body heat away.

Like us, wool breathes.

Unlike us, it’s blessed with memory,

returns to its original shape when washed.

 

Wool is proof of a benign, personal God,

is grace, divine intervention at its best.

It’s why sheep are mentioned in the Bible

more than any other animal.

I made that up,

but you believed me, proving

you’ve had your own suspicions

all along.

 

When mercury freezes,

hang your quilts on the wall.

Curl under wool.

Wool knows you’re a mammal.

It’s sympathetic, doesn’t just conserve

body heat–it radiates it,

melting your bunched muscles

into something capable of sleep,

making sure your dreams

fill with green fields.

Rhino 2002


Yes, the author of this piece (my mother) knits.  And yes, she blogs about it sometimes.

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

June 2022

Have You Seen the Darkness? A Richard Fairgray, Black Sand Beach Interview

by Betsy Bird

June 2022

Publisher Preview: Ellen Myrick (Part Three!)

by Betsy Bird

June 2022

Newbery/Caldecott 2023: Summer Prediction Edition

by Betsy Bird

June 2022

School's Out for Summer So We're Talking About Lunch Lady Day!

by Betsy Bird

May 2022

The Sun Does Shine: How Does an Adult Title Get Adapted for Young People? A Talk with Olugbemisola Ruday-Perkovich and Anthony Ray Hinton

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Read Aloud Hall of Fame #8: LET ME FINISH! by Minh Lê and Isabel Roxas

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day: My Parents Won’t Stop Talking! by Emma Hunsinger and Tillie Walden

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Casagrandes | This Week’s Comics

by Lori Henderson

Heavy Medal

Continuing the Mock Newbery Process: Time for July Suggestions

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

An Ode to Summer, a guest post by Ellen Hagan

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Shark Week, Vanilla Ice Cream, and the Honda CRV: Bob Shea and Brian Won Team Up for ADURABLE

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

New York Library Systems Offer Nationwide Access to Collections | News Bites

SLJ Blogs Get Redesigned, Optimized New Sites

UPDATE: Library Ideas Wins Appeal; iVOX Returned to Google Play Store

Censors Bypass Reconsideration Policy

Facing Angry Parents? Keep Cool when Adults Demand Book Removal | Scales on Censorship

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. eisha says

    August 3, 2007 at 6:32 am

    Lovely. And educational.

  2. SHEILA RUTH says

    August 3, 2007 at 7:50 am

    I love it! Your mom is quite good. Thanks to you and your mom for sharing these.

  3. Faith Williams says

    August 3, 2007 at 12:58 pm

    I love your mom’s poems. If she came out with a book, I would definitely buy it.

  4. Alkelda the Gleeful says

    August 7, 2007 at 9:08 am

    I love this poem. However, I do know people who break out when they have lanolin in close contact with their skin.

  5. lacy carra says

    August 7, 2007 at 6:56 pm

    Betsy- I have always been a huge fan of you and your mom- congrats to you on the fabulous blog and to your mother on the poetry!

  6. Fuse #8 says

    August 7, 2007 at 7:44 pm

    Lacy, my girl! How the heck are you? I kept running into your parents last week. Shoot me an e-mail some time. If you don’t have my address it’s Fusenumber8@gmail.com. We must chat!

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2022


    COPYRIGHT © 2022