Word of the day: Lint

From the Merrian-Webster online:

lint (\ˈlint\) noun

Etymology: Middle English

Date: 14th century

1 a : a soft fleecy material made from linen usually by scraping
1 b : fuzz consisting especially of fine ravelings and short fibers of yarn and fabric
2 : a fibrous coat of thick convoluted hairs borne by cotton seeds that yields the cotton staple

I came upon this word while reading a subtle, profound and yet seemingly simple collection of poems by the Poet Laureate Charles Simic, “That Little Something“. Part IV of the book presents a series of poems entitled Eternities. The second one:

Sewing room, linty daylight
Through a small window.
You will never be in my shoes, Eternity.
I come with an expiration date.
My scissors cut black cloth.
I stick silver pins into a tailor’s dummy,
Muttering some man’s name
While aiming at its heart.

This linty daylight, you can see it, the sunrays passing heavily through the air filled with fibers, wondering how come you don’t cough for inhaling it. It also gives a sense of suspended time, like suspended are the fibers in the air, still for an instant, time slowing down, and you’re there, cutting that black cloth (with anger?), recalling that memory that still makes you suffer.

Charles Simic That Little Something