The Poem Series About The Winter of 2005 Carries On

December 13, 2005
At the annual company craft fair

I bought for Christmas presents
some colorful duct tape wallets
emblazoned with bus transfers

And for myself
a pair of little silver alligator hair clips
embellished with forest green buttons

Which made me realize
that I have never written
about my love for buttons

Absolutely one of those cases
of something that jumps out of itself
forward at me and into my eyeball

and straight into
for lack of a better term
my self

What speaks to me
or anyone
in this way is mysterious

Why buttons? Is it good design?
The creative mind of the person who first invented them
brilliantly calling out across the ages

Or something more sensual?
a question of shape and contour and surfaces
a face that seems friendly somehow

The other day I was walking with Bill
saw a button on the ground
and automatically bent to pick it up

The ground was dirty and he was disturbed
but I’d just done the natural thing
Reaching out your hand towards the thing that is calls your name



image source is here