Forgiveness may not always come easy for everyone, but blood is thicker than water, and time likes to heal old wounds. In Tom Caton's "A Strand of Hair," he intricately weaves in details of a close relationship that has unraveled overtime and a plea to recapture this connection that has been broken but not forgotten.
With the line, "The strings that linked us have become threadbare / but loose ends are crying to be tied there," we know that these two people share a deep connection, one that was once strong but has since weakened. We're never told who was the cause of their separation, yet we can infer that there is a longing to reconnect. Loose ends usually signify unfinished business; this time definitely feels more personal. Caton stretches the thread metaphor further by comparing their current status to that of a 'torn' garment. Obviously, it's damaged but not completely ruined, giving us hope it can be restored once again.
Caton's speaker goes on to reveal their relationship further by telling us "...though only akin to a strand of hair / it never really left me, it’s still there." Strands of hair are often collected as samples to determine a person's DNA, making this line a clever way to let us know that these two people are in fact blood-related without needing to express as much directly. However, we don't know if this is a mother trying to reconnect with her son or daughter. Or if it's one sibling addressing another about a 'falling out.' Either one of these scenarios is likely, but what's apparent is they've been absent from each other's lives for quite some time, and at least one of them is planning to rectify this mistake.
The description, "Stuck like a harpoon, a stubborn spear," creates vivid imagery, and such a comparison hints that the speaker feels strongly bound by their connection to their relative. No matter what's happened between them, they can't ignore that they're still family. They know this person belongs back in their life, and it's time to make amends. What's interesting is how we move from imagining their relationship as a tattered and torn garment to being 'adjoined like wires;" it feels like their relationship is strengthening already.
The poem ends with a sense of hope -- "drawing our distant pathways near." This line shows us they believe that whatever came between them has become less important, and they'll grow closer again. They're ready to reunite; however, there's no guarantee the other will feel the same way. Even though the 'distance' seems to be closing in, it may still be a long journey ahead for both of them to truly find their way back together in order to patch things up once and for all.
https://www.fruithanginglow.com/post/massachusetts-without-me-a-strand-of-hair-by-tom-caton
