Thanks for following my thread so far. Yes, thread – whether natural, synthetic, metallic or mythical – does seem to hold the world together. Of course, it has metaphorical strength as well. Meanwhile in the tapestry, the many characters continue on their way (for the most part) from left to right – some weighed down, others blown by a favourable wind; some riding on horse-back, others wading bare legged through the surf; some handing round kebabs, others tending the dead; some ripping chain mail off corpses – all following their own thread, depicted by thread… Serious as the subject matter is, as I study the tapestry I find myself smiling, amused at the antics.. And so my poem begins light-heartedly. But as the increasing gory death scenes impact and my own awareness of what was to come after the conquest looms, the laughter fades. No one knows why the tapestry ends so abruptly, apparently in mid story; it is as if Atropus’ shears which cut the thre...