THINBLE

 

One day we were surfing for something to watch on TV when purely by happenstance

we found on PBS “Astrid and Raphaëlle’ a detective show…from France.

Astrid, who works in Criminal Records, is Autistic with a photographic memory.

Rules, routines and structure mean everything to her…

Raphaëlle is a police inspector…spontaneity and improvisation are the styles she prefers.

But once given a puzzle Astrid needs to solve it…on it’s solution she will dwell… 

which, when it comes to solving crimes…is a lot like Raphaëlle.

They form an unlikely friendship…which, as expected, starts out a little cold

but with each succeeding episode is beautiful…as it unfolds.

We watch Astrid grow…learning from Raphaëlle as they solve crimes

and any witnesses they impeach….

And we watch Raphaëlle grow too…as she comes to understand Astrid

and the lessons she can teach.

Which (at long last!) if you’ve stuck with me…and decided not to roam

brings me to the crux…the essence of this poem:

 

For Raphaëlle’s birthday…Astrid gives her a thimble…

when Raphaëlle asks why…(because at first…this seems absurd)

Here…it’s probably best I let them tell you…not in my…but in their words.

ASTRID: To sew you have to use a needle.

but you can get hurt

so…you can choose not to sew

or you can accept the fact that you could get hurt

or you can choose to put on a thimble

RAPHAËLLE (finishing Astrid’s thought): to protect yourself.

ASTRID: Exactly.

You…are my thimble.

It sounds so much more beautiful in French…

but the message is clear for all of us to see…

making today be a good day to thank anyone out there…

who’s ever been a thimble to me.