All my clothes are nasty, and that’s not an understatement.
It started in Honduras and goes on without abatement.
Part of it’s my fault, I know. How I could I have foreseen
Just how rough the concrete is that scrubs our garments clean?
Now little holes are everywhere, each shirt and skirt and sock,
At least they’re clean, I tell myself, sewing around the clock.
Yet ancient stains remain, and yellowed collars curl: this is
My perforated wardrobe that gets flown around the world.
One day in Tirana, we were caught out in the rain.
The sweater I was wearing left an awe-inspiring stain.
Now my favorite denim shirt, the one I saved for special days,
Has become an algae-d art project: well, I see it that way.
Now, as for shoes, I’ve got to say, the worst is yet to come:
I fear the brownish pig sty grime has only yet begun.
My Chacos often give me blisters, not their usual love.
You can see my flip flops’ soles from under and above.
My towel stinks, my blanket reeks, my coat’s a fetor trap.
And just this very morning, my purple watchband snapped!
Sarong’s ripped down the middle–Dad, that orange one, you know.
Seven years I’ve had it: is it time to let it go?
El Salvador left sand, sand, sand, sand, sand, sand, sand, sand, sand,
It’s everywhere: still, sand, sand, sand, sand, sand, sand, sand, sand, sand–
AND,
A part of me fears lice and ticks, if somewhere they may lurk:
No wonder socks fly off the line, in search of kinder work.
One shirt is stained with hair dye and what else, I can’t recall
And even if my clothes were new, I’d still be tired of them all.
That’s just my clothes: don’t get me started on the other stuff.
But it’s okay, we’re all this way, a little frayed and rough.
It’s kind of fun to be a mess with forty other messes.
Though I love clothes and colors, that’s not really what impresses.
So read this Bible verse and maybe give some stuff away,
Because what is this “looking perfect” thing?
What is that, anyway?
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary trouble is preparing for us an eternal glory that far outweighs it all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corninthians 4:16-18
(But you can still send your old clothes to me.)
