Long-forgotten Awl
Ah, forget-me-not, long-forgotten awl
that stitched a rip into my side
to kit me out with scars in sail
and sent me forth on briny trail.
New tears and splits required other tools,
new knots tied by ocean-going fools -
The buck of berth neath water-line
threw them off-balance and into brine.
No hands on deck meant scars gaped wide -
might have stitched myself up but never tried.
Sailed on to sink, then rot and moulder
sea-bottom-wreck growing softly older.
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Interesting poem. To me, the awl personifies the appreciation of traditional skills and values. Sometimes the old way of doing things are the best and most effective. We get so blinded by new and dazzling technology that we lose sight of the fundamental purpose.
I guess the recent credit crunch on Wall Street is a prime example. People fall for the new exotic financial securities that promise unparalleled gains that they abandon fundamental investing principles. Although we know from history that the market always corrects itself, people keep thinking that this time will be different, I believe what Warren Buffet calls “irrational exuberance.” Essentially, the awl represents rational and traditional values and methods.
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