The Seamstress

National Poetry Day 6th October 2022. Blood Lines Poem 31

she sews and she sews

remnants of past lives

using golden threads

the patchwork quilt grows

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she sews and she sews

buttons and sequins

of love and kindness

connections she knows

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she sews and she sews

wadding of wonder

warmer and stronger

when the cold wind blows

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she sews and she sews

uniting herself

stitching new futures

inwardly she glows

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she sews and she sews

friends ask, “How are you?”

she smiles responding

calmly, “I’m so-so”.

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This poem was written after a tempestuously emotional month that left me feeling fragmented and disconnected from myself. Recently a lot of my poetry has been freeform, which is fine, but sometimes structure and rhyme bring stability and peace to a poem when a natural rhythm emerges. The theme of stitching as a metaphor has always appealed after first reading Ian Hamilton Finlay’s quote “Even-ing will come, they will sew the blue sail.” The patchwork in the photo is my still-to-be-finished quilt with patched made from material donated by friends and old clothing. It is indeed a memory quilt!

Flynne’s Barn is a place where young people living with cancer can come together and find connection in beautiful surroundings and provides a range of immersive outdoor and creative experiences. I am sharing one poem per day during September 2022 to raise money for this charity. To DONATE, visit my GO FUND ME page. Many thanks.