We Play at Paste




An early piece of art from a grandchild


I encountered a poem line from Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) that intrigued me.

We play at paste
Till qualified for pearl

Her poetry often shows a simplicity at first that goes deeper.

As I read her lines, I thought of the progression of a child at play, the way they socialize or don't, the way they draw and paint as they learn. From there I imagined the ways we adults succeed and fail at those same things. This is the poem I wrote:



We Play at Paste

Starting out
we cut awkwardly and uneven
hands and fingers learning the task
we paste odd shapes to paper
paint wide berths across the page
nothing anyone could recognize

We fall at play
knock over others' towers
and mess up at social play

We grow up,
make shapes that people recognize
turn our brushes to furniture and homes
decorate and build things that last

and most of the time we can
laugh in all the right places
and work side by side
but sometimes we still fail at that.


 Carolyn Wilker




Published in Tower Poetry Summer 2018, Volume 67 No. 1

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