Reciprocities

by
Cathal Lagan
 Source: Angel, M. ‘Ball of yarn’. [online]. Available at Vecteezy.com: https://bit.ly/42xu9f7

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 She gave me skeins of wool
To hold out (like a priest at Mass),
With stern rubrics not to fidget, while she
Wound it into a ball, unwinding me,
Unravelling my hands and arms, checking
My lapses with a gentle tug
When I wandered off through images
Her chat had made, for though
She kept the line between us taut
She kept my heart at ease with all her talk. Narrative poem with free
verse – does not follow
And when her ball compacted grew, specific set of rules.
And my few strands fell limp away,
I knew there was no loss, for she
Would knit it back again to fit me perfectly.

But richer still,

I see today these lines are drawn out from me
To knit through this faltering verse
A thread of memory
Time has pulled away from consciousness.

© Optimi
 Britannica Dictionary definition of RECIPROCITY.
Reciprocities formal. noun :
a situation or relationship in which two people or
groups agree to do something similar for each
other, to allow each other to have the same rights,
etc. : a reciprocal arrangement or relationship

for my mother
Connotation of mother = care

"Reciprocities" is a tender and loving tribute to the speaker's mother, using the metaphor of
knitting to convey the idea of care, attention, and renewal.
My = speaker in the poem is the poet.

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She gave me skeins of wool Mass can be a memorial and
a sacrifice. In the Eucharistic
prayer, the church
commemorates Jesus Christ
Skeins = a length of yarn loosely coiled or knotted. and his redeeming work,
especially his sacrifice for the
sake of all humankind
through his crucifixion.

To hold out (like a priest at Mass),

This suggests that the act of knitting is sacred, imbued with a sense of ritual and tradition.
The poet is compared to a priest at Mass.  SIMILE

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 The mother's instructions not to fidget, and her gentle tug when the
speaker becomes distracted, highlights the importance of focus and
discipline in the creative process.

With stern rubrics not to fidget, while she

METAPHOR

Wound it into a ball, unwinding me,

As the process goes on his head would
spin, resulting to his confusion and
wandering. This reflects the idea of repair and renewal, that even
when things fall apart or unravel, they can be fixed and
made whole again.

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 The metaphor → the process of winding the wool is like "unwinding" or "unraveling"
the speaker.

The action of winding the wool is not simply a mechanical task, but also an act of
care and attention that allows the speaker's mother to understand and connect with
the speaker on a deeper level.

It also suggests that the process of winding the wool allows for a moment of
meditation or reflection for both the speaker and his mother, as they engage in a task
that is both physical and contemplative.

The notion of knitting and the relationship between mother and child are intertwined
and inseparable.

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 Personification

Unravelling my hands and arms, checking

By saying that the wool is "unraveling" his hands and arms, the poet
suggests that the skeins of wool are like a living thing that is actively
moving and unwinding his body.

My lapses with a gentle tug

Lose concentration → He would drop his hands. She

would check his concentration by pulling the strands
harder.

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 When I wandered off through images
daydreamed…

If he lost concentration and started to ‘wander’and form images in his head, his
mother would put him at ease by talking to him.

Her chat had made, for though

His mom would make conversation –

talk to him to set him at ease…
Source: Microsoft Stock Images

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 The physical piece of wool AND their deeper connection…
Did not allow it dip //
weaken → Symbolizes the
She kept the line between us taut connection between the
mother and the speaker,
as well as the idea of
maintaining boundaries
and discipline.

She kept my heart at ease with all her talk.

Also a military term → in a
Made him feel comfortable / and safe relaxed manner with feet slightly
apart and hands at the back

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The second stanza continues the metaphor of knitting → the mother compacts the ball of
wool and then knits something new again.

the idea of repair and renewal, that even when things fall
apart or unravel, they can be fixed and made whole again.

And when her ball compacted grew, The final stanza of the
poem shifts to a more
reflective tone. The
speaker realizes that
His concentration… these memories are
still present, even if
And my few strands fell limp away, they are hidden from
view, and can be
drawn out like a
thread and woven into
something new.
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The statement "there was no loss" is hyperbolic as there was
actually some loss of wool strands.

Enjambment -
I knew there was no loss, for she There are several
instances of
enjambment in
the poem, where
a line continues
onto the next
without
Would knit it back again to fit me perfectly. punctuation,
creating a sense
of fluidity and
Suggests that the mother's care and movement
attention are tailored specifically to the throughout.
speaker's needs, creating something that is
uniquely suited to them.

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But richer still,
shows transition or link his childhood to adulthood.

Note the
Lines of his poetry… enjambment
to the next
line…
I see today these lines are drawn out from me

Link to his memories / the lines of wool… When he writes… the

old lessons from his
childhood returns…

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 Not always with confidence…

To knit through this faltering verse

He is not actually knitting → he is The speaker sees the poem
writing… as a way to knit a thread of
memory back together,
A thread of memory which time has pulled away
from his consciousness.

Symbolizes the idea of memory and the connections that we make with
others, as well as the process of creating something new out of the past.

Time has pulled away from consciousness.

Time is personified.

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 The mother is shown as
The mother is portrayed as carefully creating The mother is shown as
a knitter, giving the speaker something from the wool, carefully creating
skeins of wool to hold out just as she is creating a something from the
like a priest at Mass. bond with her child. wool, just as she is
creating a bond with her
child.
TONE
Appreciation and gratitude The mother is able to knit
towards the speaker's mother. Extended metaphor of the wool back together
There is a sense of warmth and knitting and creating again to fit the child
affection in the way the something from skeins perfectly, just as she is able
speaker describes the act of of wool to help the child overcome
holding out the skeins of wool their struggles.
and the way the mother wound
it into a ball. He appreciates the
lessons she taught him. The final lines of the poem show that the
Also, reflective and nostalgic, speaker now sees their memories as lines
as the speaker looks back on of wool, drawn out and knit together to
the past and the memories that form the fabric of their life.
were created.

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 Memory: The poem explores the
Motherhood: The
idea of memory and how it shapes
relationship between the
our identity. The speaker reflects
speaker and his mother is
on his past experiences with his
the central theme of the
mother, which have become
poem. The mother is
memories that he cherishes.
portrayed as a caring,
patient and nurturing figure
who provides the speaker
with love, support and
guidance.
THEMES

Loss and recovery: The poem touches

Love and gratitude: The poem on the themes of loss and recovery. The
is a tribute to the speaker's speaker experiences a sense of loss
mother and expresses his love when his strands of wool fall limp, but
and gratitude towards her. It his mother is able to knit them back
highlights the importance of again to fit him perfectly, which
family and the role of a mother symbolizes the idea of recovery and
in shaping her child's life. resilience.

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