I Sit and Sew [poem by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson (1875-1935)]

I sit and sew—a useless task it seems,

My hands grown tired, my head weighed down with dreams—

The panoply of war, the martial tred of men,

Grim-faced, stern-eyed, gazing beyond the ken

Of lesser souls, whose eyes have not seen Death,

Nor learned to hold their lives but as a breath—

But—I must sit and sew.

 

I sit and sew—my heart aches with desire—

That pageant terrible, that fiercely pouring fire

On wasted fields, and writhing grotesque things

Once men. My soul in pity flings

Appealing cries, yearning only to go

There in that holocaust of hell, those fields of woe—

But—I must sit and sew.

 

The little useless seam, the idle patch;

Why dream I here beneath my homely thatch,

When there they lie in sodden mud and rain,

Pitifully calling me, the quick ones and the slain?

You need me, Christ! It is no roseate dream

That beckons me—this pretty futile seam,

It stifles me—God, must I sit and sew?

 

(Ed note: I've spent most of this day wrestling with an especially challenging sewing project and while doing so have been listening to the WQXR radio day-long celebration of Juneteenth, the commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Sewing is a mostly solitary activity and since taking it up a couple of years ago, I've done a lot of thinking about how it connects me to my ancestors (both of my grandmothers were garment workers in sweatshops during the early part of the last century) and how domestic work that is necessary is also devalued especially when it is done primarily by women. This came into greater relief recently, when armies of home sewists and quilters stepped up to make masks, myself among them, for healthcare and other workers. It didn't take long for me to wonder if sewing had been an inspiration, or jumping off point, for poems and it was by following this train of thought that I discovered Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson's "I Sit and Sew." Sewing is an imperative for her--the patching and mending necessary to extend the life of clothing--but is doesn't constrain her imagination, which takes her to terrifying scenes of war, destruction, and despair. 

Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson graduated from Straight University in 1892 and attended Cornell University. She was a poet, author of short stories and dramas, newspaper columnist, and editor of two anthologies.Dunbar-Nelson was an influential figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Find out more about her remarkable life here.)

 

-- Stacey Lehman

Comments

[Jacqueline L.]

There it is again,"work that is necessary is also devalued, especially when it is done primarily by women"! Not only domestic work but what is now being called ":essential work" during a pandemic that sends doctors, nurses, EMTs, caregivers and cleaners and food workers to risk death from a novel virus, while unraveling an economy based on retail and recreation by confining white-collar workers at home. A hundred years and only the faces of the suffering have changed. Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson appeared in accounts of the Harlem Renaissance by feminist writers of the 1970s and earlier, then slipped back into obscurity as the women's movement was largely co-opted by academic programs. It's just as relevant today as it was when she wrote it.

[Mary Gilliland]

Thank you, Stacey! I so admire the way your comment pulls together many threads, including your research. And I agree with Jacqueline L that both Alice Dunbar-Nelson and her work deserve our remembrance. 'I Sit And Sew' is a poem not only for its time but also for today. Her imagery takes a strong position vis a vis war: resistant. Can you let me know about whether, with your permission, I can re-post the poem and your commentary on my site about Dan Berrigan's legacy of working for peace? https://americaishardertofind.wordpress.com/