Kathy L. Arens
2011 Nebraska Senior Poet Laureate

Kathy L. Arens, 57, of Ewing, Nebraska, is a first-time winner in the Senior Poets Laureate poetry competitions for American poets age 50 and older. We give her a warm welcome to the circle of SPL poets. Kathy is a social worker. Her astrological sun sign is Taurus.

WOOL SOCK

Wool sock frayed and worn;
just now, a hole appears at the heel.
Instinct tells me to throw it out.
Somehow, I cannot.
Like habits that have worn on and on,
beyond the particular usefulness once served,
I cling to that wool sock
remembering journeys made together.

Of paths traveled,
this present one most joyful.

Wool sock,
frayed and worn,
comfortable, comforting.
What it lacks in usefulness
more than made up for in history.