Work in Progress

A work in progress by a work in progress

Grows stitch by stitch, loop by loop,

“A long obedience in the same direction”—

Except when it doesn’t,

Except when the worker gets cocky,

Thinks she knows the pattern by heart,

Doesn’t check in with the instructions every few stitches,

Forgets to abide in obedience.

Then, when she realizes her error

One or two or five rows later,

She rips back her work,

Grieves the waste of time and effort,

Checks the pattern more regularly

For a while,

Until she doesn’t.

But maybe this time the worker in progress

Catches herself sooner, repents earlier,

Sticks to the pattern shown longer—

Progress.