A big ball of tangled yarn

That can't seem to sort itself out.

The more you pull on the ends, 

the tanglier and tanglier the yarn's life gets.

As if the very thought of being free

makes it recoil nervously again

 

So many things a ball of yarn could become: 

a sweater for a teacher,

a scarf for a reporter,

a hat for a scientist.

A terrifying thought that a mix of tiny fibers

will someday have to be one cohesive something.

 

Will the sweater be roomy enough?

Will the scarf be long enough?

Will the hat be warm enough?

The uncertainty of the unknown,

the possibility of not being good enough, 

has the yarn reluctant to try at all.

 

So the yarn sits in it's container,

a Rubbermaid bin with a smile drawn on the front,

looking like it is ready for anything at all

but all the while working up the courage

to finally untangle itself 

and become something the sheep it came from could be proud of.