Thimble Poetry

By Martin Sercombe

In old English folklore, there existed a ceremonial custom of whispering poems inside a thimble as a way of preserving and honouring the spoken word.

Poets and bards would gather together in a dimly lit room, surrounded by flickering candles and hushed silence. One poet would bring with them a thimble, typically made of silver or gold, which they would carefully pass around the circle.

When the thimble reached each poet, he would take a deep breath and whisper a poem, sonnet, or verse that they had crafted specifically for the occasion. The belief behind this tradition was that by whispering the words into the thimble, they would be imbued with a special kind of power that would make them more meaningful and long-lasting. The thimble was seen as a kind of vessel for the poem, protecting it from being lost or forgotten over time.

Once each poet had whispered their poem into the thimble, it was passed to the next person in the circle, until every poem had been captured. Finally, the thimble would be placed on a small altar, where it would be carefully guarded and protected as a sacred object.

It was believed that by whispering the words into the thimble, they would be preserved for future generations, ensuring that the stories and traditions of the past would never be forgotten.