I think March is my favorite month in Texas. The blossoms and greening ning up and less freesh start, but there is still wind, unpredictability, the possibility of freeze.I'm sishing for more greening up and less deep freeae in the lives of many I know who are suffering this spring. A friend asked why knitting is so important to me right now. I think it's because I am unusually aware of unusual amounts of suffering and somehow knitting soft colors and textures together feels like an antidote, where as poems I write seem more like descriptions of the suffering, not comforts. All prompts seem to take me to suffering these days. For instance, this is my
take on stripes.

Stripes

Prisoner of war
carries stripes of lash
on back all his days,
inescapble even
when hidden by
most expensive
silk shirt. My
own stripes,
yours, less visible
equally inescapable.

Victoria Hendricks
March 2, 2011

I'm not as discouraged as I might sound, just very aware of human pain every where I look. and then I see little Liam sleeping in utter bliss, absence of pain, and know that he will know all kinds of suffering and losses too and my job with him, wiht all the little ones is to protect some, but mostly to teach that the energy of pain can be converted into service, art, and work.