A fellow poet and blogger posted a poem the other day that mentioned a shiny new button, and while commenting on it, I thought about my grandma’s jar of buttons. Sherry still has her grandmother’s beautiful button box, so I included a picture that shows it, as well as Sherry’s button jar. Anyway, the memory inspired the following poem. Enjoy! Reposting this one for dVerse Poets Pub’s “Poetics – Button, Button”.
Grandma’s Button Box
The worst thing is losing a button
Grandma getting her button box down
Grumbling ‘bout your careless ways
As she began the hunt for one to match
The box full of every kind of button
A boy could possibly lose
Some of them shiny
Small ones and large
Every color of the rainbow in there
Chittering ‘cross the table
When she poured them out
Tired of stirring them ‘round with a finger
Hoping to get lucky
Knowing that wasn’t the way it would be
And when at last ‘twas found
That perfect shiny button
Or at least one so close no one would notice
Back into the box the rest would go
Until the next time
I’d watch the little box
Go back into its place
Marveling at the question
Handed down through all time
Wondering from where
Do the buttons come
That keep the button box full
Copyright © 2012 C. Mashburn
Claudia said
ha..good question…part of the magic i’d say…smiles
charlesmashburn said
Yes’m, grandmas are good at magic!
Sherry Mashburn said
I spent many hours playing with Grandma’s buttons when I was a little girl. Thanks for bringing back some wonderful memories.
charlesmashburn said
I did too! That jar of buttons fascinated me!
ordinarylifelessordinary said
Another warming slice of apple pie, that’s how i feel when i visit your blog and its the reason i keep popping back to see you. lovely Charles.
charlesmashburn said
I’m so glad you enjoy visiting my blog, Vanessa!
Thank you!
brian miller said
ha that button box is just magic….but that is def a question i oft wanted to know the answer to…ours was a mason jar though….nice one sir charles..
charlesmashburn said
We have a mason jar, too, Brian!
Thanks!
Daydreamertoo said
Wonderful memories. I often wondered too, where all those buttons came from…lol
charlesmashburn said
I know! I wonder if grandmas go to the button store when the jar gets low?
Mary said
Yes, indeed, where did all those buttons come from indeed? I often wondered that myself!!
charlesmashburn said
Maybe the button fairy brings them??
dfb said
A beautiful poem, wonderful sentiments.
charlesmashburn said
Thank you very much!
Anna Montgomery said
I agree with Claudia that it’s likely magic. How wonderful to have a grandmother with such a full and varied mending box (in all its metaphoric glory).
charlesmashburn said
Yes, it was a wonderful thing, and brings back awesome memories.
siggiofmaine said
I, as a child, also wondered where all the buttons came from. Some I learned when I was older came from removing the buttons on new clothing and replacing them with fancier buttons to make something look more costly. My daughter has my mother’s button box, I assume, for she has the sewing box that stood ready to have whatever was needed to repair a tear or a lost button.
And, yes, I had my own button box, but it has been hiding for a while. You created a curious wonder for me, as to where it is ! I can remember removing the buttons off shirts to be discarded and the buttons off my husbands worn work shirts. I HAD to be different and string like buttons on a thread, tho I think part of the “fun” or enjoyment was going thru the old buttons and maybe remembering the clothing and the events that the buttons stirred.
Thanks for your lovely reminiscence about buttons.
Peace, Siggi in Downeast Maine
charlesmashburn said
That was differnet, indeed, Siggi–stringing like buttons on a string. But smart and organized, too. I know my grandma did the same thing with old shirts, but I don’t know about putting fancier buttons on new clothes. Maybe she did, though.
I’m glad my poem stirred some memories, and I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Susie Clevenger (@wingsobutterfly) said
Perhaps there is a button heaven that rains them down to keep the button box full….I know what you mean. There seemed to be magic in my mother’s button box.
charlesmashburn said
Now there’s a theory I can deal with!
Thanks, Susie!
Polly Robinson said
Ah, grumbling grandmas, don’t we just love ’em – good one 🙂
charlesmashburn said
Oh! My grandma could grumble with the best of them! And that was one of the things I loved about her.
zongrik said
i found a perfect button once, it was an alien head, and there were matching flying saucers!!! that’s my perfect shiny button
3 radio button senryu
charlesmashburn said
Wow! Where do you think it came from??
hedgewitch said
Great fun, Charles–you really brought it all back. My grandmother took buttons off old clothes after she finally gave up on mending them. She had the coolest HUGE old coat buttons from stuff from the Art Deco times. I loved playing with them as a kid. (Nowdays I wonder how many kids get thrilled at the thought of playing with a button collection?)
charlesmashburn said
You’re probably right; kids have so many toys and diversions these days, I doubt they would find buttons very interesting. But, you never know!
hollyannegetspoetic said
Button boxes are indeed magic – I’m really enjoying some nostalgia here for my Mum’s button tin. It was huuuuuuge, seemingly bottomless! 🙂
charlesmashburn said
I’m glad this one is bringing back good memories for everyone!
Heaven (@asweetlust) said
Nice share…I do like the question of where do all the buttons come from ~ Happy day to you ~
charlesmashburn said
I’m sure there’s a logical explanation!
Thank you!
hiroshimem said
Very clever as usual… I’m jealous of your observation skills! I really liked the ending, it’s making me think… Guess I’ll have to rummage through the buttons to find the answer.
charlesmashburn said
You never know what memories might be hiding among the buttons!
kaykuala said
Leave it to the ladies,Charles! They have a way of doing it. It’s not hoarding but cleanly storing for the rainy day.
Hank
charlesmashburn said
Oh, I leave the buttons to the gals for sure, Hank. Although, I have sewn on a few buttons in my time. I was a quite homely child, you see, and Mom thought it would be wise to teach me to take care of myself; cooking, sewing, ironing, etc. 🙂
John (@bookdreamer) said
And our children have no idea what we are talking about with this image!
charlesmashburn said
Yes, this one is definitely dated. Today’s chid: You can put buttons back on?? Why?
J Cosmo Newbery said
An excellent question. I would suggest the ‘Button Fairy’ but it may not satisfy everyone!
charlesmashburn said
I suspect the same, J!
PamRosypp (@Pamrosypp) said
This is a lovely poem, takes the reader straight off down their own memory lane afterward. The picture is a lovely touch.
charlesmashburn said
Thank yoou very much, Pam. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
aprille said
You mentioned they often get too tight :
Next time you sew on a button: put two matchsticks in between the button and the shirt, to remove later and give it some slack.
[That’s what I taught my husband :-)]
charlesmashburn said
What a cool tip! Thanks, Aprille!
Ravenblack said
Have to wonder about the origins of those buttons, perhaps handed down as well or simply taken off shirts not wearable anymore. Love the sense of wonderment, so universal, and seemingly timeless on this one. Enjoyed the way you wrote this.
charlesmashburn said
It’s awesome that we can find wonder in a box of old buttons.
Thank you!
ManicDdaily said
This is really a lovely poem, Charles– you show several sides of the Grandmother – the magic side, for sure, but the tut-tutting side too–the onerousness with the fun – and the awe that children especially have for collections there too. All with the kind of simplicity of the moment. Really lovely, and actually one of my favorites of yours. (Though I probably say that all the time.) k.
charlesmashburn said
I hope you say it all the time!
Thank you for the very kind words, Karin!
C Rose said
fell into your memory with ease, lovely ~ Rose
charlesmashburn said
Thank you, Rose!
Gay said
Yes a lovely poem – sets up such a relationship between child and grandparent, and weaves in and out of the curiosities of a child.
I can tell you now that you’re all grown up and I’m a grandmother the source of the buttons: When one is in the notions part of the store, and buttons are “on sale”, one buys several for men’s shirts, large ones for housecoats or such like, and when clothes “wear out” the buttons are cut off before being thrown away. Sometimes garments come with extra buttons, these are put away with all the rest in case one falls off, and for the dress or suit that lost a button, it is taken to the fabric store, and a new one is searched for. If it can’t be matched the others are replaced with ones of the same size and extra ones are bought thus the many buttons in the jar. 😉
charlesmashburn said
Oh! And next I suppose you’ll tell me there ain’t no Santy Claws??
Thanks, Gay!
siggiofmaine said
Charles…she’s exactly right…I’d forgotten about the buttons taken off when a match couldn’t be made…buttons multiply faster than rabbits in the jar…Santy Claws knows wants purty buttons in their stockings for a new outfit…made to match the buttons of course. ☺.
charlesmashburn said
Oh… ah’ight den
Madeleine Begun Kane said
Fun and beautifully nostalgic!
charlesmashburn said
Thank you, Madeleine!
beckykilsby said
‘Chittering’… 🙂
charlesmashburn said
I love make up new words!
David King said
Magical days with their magical ways. Ah, if only… Thanks for this.
charlesmashburn said
That’s what I was thinking, David!
Thanks for stopping by!
Susan said
Finally a little break in vacation allows me to visit! I adore this poem that almost gesture by gesture paints a vivid picture with sounds so that I can both watch and see you watch a mystery just as puzzling as the tooth fairy. And if that was the worst thing–your grandmother loved you in deed. Thank you for a sublime minute!
charlesmashburn said
A break from vacation… hmmm… something not right about that comment.
But! I appreciate the kind words about my poem!
Thank you, Susan! (Try and relax every chance you get!)
siggiofmaine said
I agree with your thoughts on the vacation ! Sigh.