Thistle Me This

Copyright Protected by Mary Mikawoz

Copyright Protected by Mary Mikawoz

Thistle Me This!

Poem and Photography By Mary Mikawoz

“Thistle me this!

Thistle me that!

The firmer you place us together

The harder it is for you to tear us apart!!!”

I was inspired to write this poem because of the inspiration that George D. Mestral received in developing Velcro from the concept of thistles in how they work and how they cling to you by observing how burdock and bur seeds attached themselves to his dog’s furs and to his clothing.  He examined them under a microscope discovering all the little hooks and then put it into action.

This Swiss electrical engineer thought of the idea in 1941 and invented the idea of Vclcro in 1948.  Did you also know that Velcro fasteners made of Teflon loops, polyester hooks, and glass backing are used in Space Stations in outer space?

From  a personal point of view, my family went to Poland when I was 6 years old. That summer we visited a relative’s farm.  I remember running through some normal fields and then realizing that I had beautiful little flowers stuck all over and on my skirt when my sister pointed them out to me.  I thought they were pretty until I tried to take them off and they stuck firmly to my clothing and pierced my fingers.  Then I thought they were nasty but now I just see them for the beauty that they are in this photograph that I took.

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Thank you for checking out my photographic work.