I Have Measured Out My Life

 

 “I measure out my life with coffee spoons.”  T.S Eliot

And me?

I have measured out my life with blue jeans worn out,

with Chapstick tubes,

with chickens I cooked,

& countries visited.

I have measured out my life with the cars I’ve bought,

with music I’ve learned to sing,

with the lessons I planned & taught,

& houses I’ve lived in.

I’ve measured out my life with yards cloth I bought,

with needles threaded, pins lost, & spools finished,

with quilts I’ve made,

& shows I’ve been in.

I’ve measured out my life with books read,

with movies seen, radio interviews heard,

with historical turning points I lived firsthand,

& wars won or lost in all zones that I cared about.

I’ve measured out my life with generations I can see,

with births, marriages, & deaths that I know,

with people moving & coming back,

& with accidents, scandals, disappointment, & fortitude.

I’ve measured out my life with friends & lovers,

with ones I kept & ones that fell by the wayside,

with dinners I’ve given & gone to,

& with the address & contact lists, letters, & emails.

I’ve measured out my life with photographs taken,

with albums from the past, mine & others’,

with cartoons & jokes I remember,

& trips & outings to see art.

I’ve measured out my life with my favorite garments,

with sheets used & torn,

with tablecloths loved,

& hats that came to me & were lost.

I have measured out my life with china I have eaten off,

with coffee mugs & wine glasses, especially ones I broke,

with vases, oh! the vases with the flowers,

&  nearly daily loads of stuff in the dishwasher.

I have measured out my life with letters: email & postal,

with presents & packages sent & received,

with stamps bought,

& with newspapers & magazines.

I have measured out my life with sweaters I made,

with art bought, decks of cards worn out, 

music on LPs, tapes, CDs, & beyond,

& with furniture & carpets I have loved.

I have measured out my life with loads of laundry,

with filling my car with gas,

with bagfuls of carpet dust & floor sweepings,

& with all the Pentel pens I have used up or lost.

I have measured out my life with journals kept,

with dances & exercise classes,

with yawns & sneezes,

 & with heartbeats & respiration.

I have measured out my life with favorite numbers,

with clotheslines delighted in,

with apples, pears, & tangerines eaten,

& classrooms I have been in.

I have measure out my life with lost earrings,

with watches, 

with pairs of glasses & sun glasses left behind somewhere

& treasured gifts & hand-me-down possessions. 

I have measured out my life with 3 siblings,

with 3 children &  3 step-children,

with 2 husbands, 16 aunts & uncles

& 4 grandchildren.

I have measured out my life with cartons of ice cream,

with television programs & series,

with phone calls, especially the long-distance ones,

& games of Russian Bank, cribbage, Set, & solitaire.

I have measured out my life with measuring tools,

with many special collections,

with egg-beaters, thimbles, letter-stamp sets, scissors,

& 4 important cameras

I have measured out my life with the places I have lived,

with the bike, plane, bus, train, & car trips I have made,

with my traveling companions & trail buddies,

& with currencies I have used.

I have measured out my life with spools of thread,

Seam lines, quilting stitches,

Scissors, bought, given, & found,

& special quilt-making projects.

I have measured out my life with favorite grey garments,

With dance skirts I made, dance shoes & blouses,

With nightgowns, wrappers & slippers,

&