Worry

Even fresh from napping,

my mind picks up a thread

of worry and begins to

                stab and twirl

and knit and purl

                with its crafty needles.

Threading and fretting,

                Jabbing and wrapping,

Then we tat and mend

                Into a too-tight mess.

Turning it back and forth,

over and over again,

pulling and bunching

things much worse than they were.

The sewing machine comes out

with a bang and roars zig zag over

it forward and back

until its unrecognizably contorted

in a knot of my own creation.

I add my embellishments of ric-rak and beads

without any concern for structure,

pattern, and plan.

Cross-stitch on top of it all

Until I

Stop

Take a breath

Shake my head

And exhale

Undoing my worrisome

Handiwork

Loose threads; let me rest!