Details of the Pazyryk Carpet

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I turn to my Dad, sitting on the matching dark gray wool love seat to my right. Once again, he has come to my aid as he always does. His shoulders, still broad, are now curved inward a bit, from a combination of old age and the weight of the pain he has been carrying for decades. These are the shoulders that used to carry me around the house so that I would forget the pain from my wounds whenever I would fall and injure my knees or elbows, a common and almost daily incident. I was a super active child. His perfect shaped head, not too round and not too oblong with well-groomed white hair blending so well with his bald spot, is held in the palm of his left hand now, resting against the arm of the love seat. His eyebrows, still not completely white, are locked in a tight knot. These are the eyebrows my mom fell in love with. She said they resembled a pair of perfectly shaped swords. Now, the swords are engaged in a duel, frozen in horror and sadness. Unlike me, Dad is not staring at the TV. Instead, his dark eyes are fixed on the patterns of the Persian carpet under his feet – the same patterns that taught me harmony, balance, color, and most importantly anticipation.

My dad when he was young with his sword-shape eyebrows

Persian Carpets

Pazyryk Carpet - Made in 5th century BC - Discovered in Pazyryk, Siberia.