She tied the knot in the corner of the bed sheet
A mumbled prayer dribbled off her lips
Past the woman tying knots in a hankie
Tears running off her chin to splash
Across her wedding ring
A reminder of the knot tied so long ago
She walked to the desk her stomach in knots
From anxiety and fear and lack of lunch
All the knots frayed from holding so long
Knowing that the knot holding this man
To his life was loosening
No amount of fancy rope work
Bowline, half hitch or square knot
Would tie him up and keep him here
They don’t allow it anymore. A longtime ago the nurses would tie a knot in the corner of the sheet of a patient on the brink of death. The superstition was that by tying a knot in the sheet the person would be “tied” to this life and not pass on your shift. Now any nurse caught performing this little ritual would be reprimanded and possibly fired. We as a species have a long history of knot tying. We do it all the time either literally or figuratively. When was the last time you were tied in knots or tied something in knots??
A Different Perspective 
Never heard of that ritual but knew where the poem was headed. 🙂
LikeLike
It was new to me but all the nurses have heard of it…
LikeLike
Beautiful poem.
LikeLike
Thanks so much for the praise! I’m thrilled you liked it.
LikeLike
never heard of that before but totally love your unusual way of ‘knotting’ the words together!
My last big knotting episode was tying all my wheels together to make a climbing wall for my plants 🙂 Would never do it to a dying person, they should leave when they are ready 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks for the compliment! I love your climbing wall and I’m trying to get Sparky on-board to do the same for our garden (would look better than the twine and sticks he has used recently)! As for the sheet knots – it really doesn’t work. When your time is up it is up and you pass on.
LikeLiked by 1 person
exactly … it’s a lot of work but looks great 🙂
LikeLike
I have a friend who could source the bike rims for me… but with the social distancing it might be a long time before I can get my hands on them!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I got mine from the local dump, had to pull off the gear thingy, greasy with ball bearings, then paint them … I love it and now the neighbours call me the bike lady 🙂
LikeLike
That sounds like the deal! A little sweat equity isn’t too high a price!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
exactly … couldn’t afford to buy that many bikes 😉
LikeLike
Hehe! Buying bikes never crossed my mind!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
lol 😎
LikeLike
I never had heard of tying a knot at death like that. I used a dowel rod to support a plant heavy with flowers. I tied a knot with twine around a stem to the dowel.
LikeLike
Your knot is not as death defying as the knots in sheets. Sparky had to stake up some of his pepper plants a few years ago. The tomato cages make tying them up obsolete now…
LikeLike
I used hog panels to line my tomatoes on two sides. They have plenty of support. And the hog panels never get heavy and buckle.
LikeLike
Hehe! I fortunately do not have access to hog panels. I’ll forgo the option of using them for tomatoes to ensure I do not have to go anywhere near a swine operation!!
LikeLike
You can get them at a local farm supply store. That is where I bought mine.
LikeLike
Thanks but I think I’ll stay with the tomato cages… they were free!
LikeLike
I used to use them but my tomato plants weigh to much by the end of the summer and collapse under the pressure.
LikeLike
You must have better soil – we have been unable to get good production even using mushroom mulch and rotating where we plant them!
LikeLike
I always rotate where we plant them. But my garden has no shade at all from sunup to seven at night. My mom’s don’t produce as well without full sun.
LikeLike
We are doomed – no sun and those dratted walnut trees…
LikeLike
Mom had problems with Walnut trees in the past. Now she has learned to plant her tomatoes on the south half of the garden away from them.
LikeLike
I’d love to do that but we have a small yard and can’t escape the walnut trees… unless we sell the house and move to a new location.
LikeLike
Might try planting some in a container on your porch or something.
LikeLike
We’ve done container gardening before with mixed results. Our house just doesn’t get much sun…
LikeLike
Okay
LikeLike
Oh, how I would love you on my trivia team:)
LikeLike
I’d love to play on your team. Our trivia night was cancelled because of the coronavirus… So we are doing social distancing and spending more time on the computer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful and sad poem. I never heard of this ritual either. Very interesting. peace & smiles
LikeLike
Thanks for the kind words! It is a superstition that Sparky’s family of nurses talk about…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very interesting superstition!
LikeLike
There are lots of strange superstitions surrounding death and dying. Almost as many as sports and farming!
LikeLike
Learned something new. I’ve never heard of this ritual.
LikeLike
I don’t know when it started but I imagine it is from a very long time ago! I think we’ve moved past superstition in medicine… sort of anyway.
LikeLike
That would be my wedding day, June 6. 1982.
LikeLike
That is one of the happiest kinds of knots!!
LikeLiked by 1 person