DEATH Poem: Knots, by Daniel Cloud

Did you know?
Every time a rope or line
Is knotted, it is weakened until the knot is untied?
Lines break most easily at the knot.

As part of my family,
And being myself,
I have learned this the hard way.

We fall. We break.
We knot ourselves where we should not.
Those knots, those ties:
That is where we break.

My father taught me how to tie a knot
And how to use it, properly,
Whether to climb or to descend.

He also taught me, quite effectively,
That the ties that bind too tightly
Most often lead to failure.

Loosen the knots.
Untie them where possible.
They weaken the line.

They weaken the line.