Because the teacher in me cannot stop herself and because there MAY be some out there that are curious, life-long learners, let’s do a little dissection on this week’s drop promo copy.

Here is the text used:

We Do Not Stitch This Drop Quietly

Some people cope with the state of the world by doomscrolling. Others by rage-cleaning. We stitch. Loudly. Sassily. And with just enough sarcasm to make the embroidery machine sweat.

We are stitchers. We are snarky. We do not forgive design flaws. We do not forget to change our bobbin.

Expect thread.

Remember, Remember… the Drop of Dissent

Remember, remember this late March endeavor—
Machine thread, treason, and plot,
I see no reason these snarky designs
Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, in stitches appears—
In patches and peekers and fobs for your shears,
In mug rugs and notebooks, in masks you can hoop—
A full crafty arsenal for raising a ruck.

Then out comes Medusa, a feminist queen,
With old-school tattoo lines, sharp and serene,
“Petrify the Patriarchy,” she hisses with grace,
In bun covers, fobs—put ‘em right in their place.

Behold! A field where no fucks are grown,
A barren expanse, majestic and lone.
With clouds overhead and sarcasm sown,
You’ll stitch it and smile like a monarch unthroned.

“I hate everyone—and my bra,” so refined,
A faux cross-stitch wreath for the fed-up mind.
Religion symbols twist in a dualist tale—
“Coexist” or “Eat a Dick”—choose which prevails.

A smiley grenade, a possum in dread,
A swastika dumped where it ought to be shed,
A boomerang named Karma, a burger with sass,
And the trash cat who faints when the moment’s too crass.

So holler, my stitchers! Let liberty ring,
Thread your machines and do your own thing.
This drop is rebellion, wit, rage, and relief,
Embroidery armed with audacity and grief.

This promo copy pulls inspiration from a few different avenues. First, we open with this:

“We Do Not Stitch This Drop Quietly”

This line is directly inspired from Dylan Thomas’ poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.” It is a poem about fighting death will all your will and not accepting the inevitability of the human condition. Below is the poem in its entirety:

Do not go gentle into that good night

Dylan Thomas 1914 –1953

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

The next snippet to be inspired by outside influences are these lines:

“We are stitchers. We are snarky. We do not forgive design flaws. We do not forget to change our bobbin.

Expect thread.”

Starting in about 2003, a group of hacktivists emerged calling themselves “Anonymous.” They launched a series of DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks against various corporate, government, and religious institutions as well as distributed “kiddie scripts” to beginner hackers, encouraging the same civilian “anarchy.”

They, from time to time, release video statements regarding their activities and generally use this verbiage:

“We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.”

The tie-in here, from the standpoint of the pattern designs released this week, is the Guy Fawkes mask, featured prominently in the movie V for Vendetta, the pop culture inspiration behind part of this drop, and also the mask used by various members of Anonymous when making public statements.

The Guy Fawkes mask leads us to the connection to the main prose in this promo which uses the rhyme and meter of the traditional English folk poem that commemorates the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The Gunpowder Plot was an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate King James I of England (James VI of Scotland) and blow-up Parliament. The leader of the Gunpowder Plot was Robert Catesby but he was killed during apprehension and thus Guy Fawkes, one of his followers became “the face” of the rebellion. He, Fawkes, was sentenced to be hung, drawn, and quartered as he was caught red-handed about to ignite the barrels of gunpowder secreted in an underground vault beneath Parliament the night before Parliament was to be opened for the new session.

To this day, November 5^th is celebrated in England as Guy Fawkes Night. Celebrated with bonfires and fireworks, the religio-political emphasis of the celebration have largely faded from common British memory but it is still observed as a night of revelry and fun in most of England.

Here is the original English poem:

Remember, remember, the 5th of November,

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason

Why gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, ’twas his intent

To blow up the King and the Parliament

Three score barrels of powder below

Poor old England to overthrow

By God’s providence he was catch’d

With a dark lantern and burning match

Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring

Holler boys, holler boys

God save the King!

So there you have it – me flaunting my high-priced over-education.

Did you get all the references and inspirational pulls?

Was this at least mildly entertaining?