Written piece
The threads of life
SHOESHOE MALEBO
Lesotho
About this piece
The threads of life is a poem exploring the material qualities and conditions that come together to form the mosaic we are a part of that is humanity. We are all threads and this piece explores some questions and challenges that some threads may ask themselves and experience.
A divine interweaving of diverse threads.
A multitude of colours surpassing those reflected off the facets of a diamond.
Different weights.
Different textures.
All positioned across the tenacity spectrum.
This is the genetic makeup of the mosaic we call humanity.
An ever evolving mosaic.
Continuously morphing with ever second that goes by.
What becomes of a single thread woven into a place not of its choosing?
Conditioned by the elements in that position?
With a unique imprint of that very environment?
What becomes of a single thread when this mosaic morphs?
When the threads that are its forefathers wither away
And leave voids as deep as canyons from its perspective but are only crevices on the grander scale?
What then when some threads feed off others and take up space?
What then when others become frail, wither away or dissipate?
What becomes of the threads that are pulled out of their place to reveal the true underbelly of this mosaic?
The parts that are hidden away.
Not spoken about.
Not addressed.
The parts these threads pretend not to have or see.
Tentacles bud here, in the shadows
And often hook onto one another.
This becomes a trap that is unseen but felt.
Making it impossible to separate these threads without leaving fragments of them behind.
Remnants that further transform this mosaic that is constantly changing.
I am a thread in this tapestry.
Searching for my true identity within the chaos of this metamorphoses,
While simultaneously contorting into versions of myself I never knew existed.
What is to become of me?
What is to become of you?
Single threads existing in this mosaic.
Exploring the unknown.
Embodying something distinctive in it.
Something unique.
Single threads divinely placed in this Quilt of life.