Handle With Care

Handle With Care

Would that we walk this earth with care labels
Visible on the outside that others might see
and know how we might be treated with care
To handle some as delicate with a gentle touch
Leaving to air dry in peace
and others with high heat and a heavy hand
Perhaps a warm iron if necessary 
We come without a handbook
of parts and assembly
Many times with fragile contents
and missing hardware
Who could understand how we are made up
and which piece should fit where
 
         Lift the memory carefully from the mind
         
         Caution: edges may be sharp 
         Place carefully away from harsh words
         said without thought or empathy
         as object could easily damage
 
 
Copyright © 2021 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved


Linda Lyberg from Charmed Chaos is hosting Open Link
Night at D'Verse Poets

Photo by Pascal Bernardon on Unsplash

This is a "Found Poem" by taking words on instruction
labels or manual and using them for something else.
 

Published by Christine Bolton

I have been writing poetry since I was a child and it has helped in the good times and bad times. I am always looking within to find the answers to life's problems and to write thought-provoking poetry and prose. Thanks for checking it out. Christine

35 thoughts on “Handle With Care

  1. A well-found poem, Christine! Isn’t it amazing that poems can be found anywhere and everywhere?! I could do with a care label too. I especially love the lines:
    ‘To handle some as delicate with a gentle touch
    Leaving to air dry in peace
    and others with high heat and a heavy han’
    and
    ‘Place carefully away from harsh words
    said without thought or empathy
    as object could easily damage’.

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    1. Thank you Kim. I’m so happy you liked it. I always tell my husband that he should have come with instructions! ☺️

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  2. I love the idea of people coming with care labels! Sometimes I think people are so harsh and uncaring, but who knows what troubles they have been through? Better understanding all round would be a good thing.

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    1. Thanks. I continually remind myself of that. We don’t know what we don’t know 😞

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    1. You’re right Linda. We would be devoid of emotion. Life‘s lessons in being cognizant that others might be feeling pain. Shouldn’t be too hard for most of us I’m sure. ☺️

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  3. This is incredibly deep and profound. I feel humanity is hanging by a thread these days. People don’t have empathy anymore like they used to.

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    1. Yes Sanaa, I was feeling the same as you. We are becoming more and more insulated and are caring less for others. It is so sad. The virus has changed out world and I’m not sure we will ever be the same again. 🥲

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  4. I love how you reused the words from a manual in another context… it’s also frightening that we tend to follow the instructions when it comes to things, but forget them when it’s about humans.

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