Tiny stitched
lines of geography sewn
into flesh and muscle,
needled from silken to coarseness,
fragile to enduring.
Fabrics woven into years
of patchworked life,
tattered and torn ,
to be mended
and forgiven.
Weary threads continue to unravel
and fray
to be caught up again
by sharp silver needles,
darning the gaps
strengthening the ties,
binding the thoughtless wounds,
the intimate grief.
Steady hands fold the hems,
straight and narrow,
to be cut through
and reworked into patterns
of spring to summer
to autumn.
Each moment embroidered
to its best possible telling
as the pattern emerges
from faded cloth.
Seeing the mythologies explained
in pieced remnant and scrap,
we fold its story around us,
holding tight against the cold.
thecourseofourseasons 
This reminds me of the way my mom took pieces of material from favorite clothes that were worn out and made a blanket. It wasn’t a quilt, but it showed so many aspects of our lives and kept the memories alive. Wonderful metaphor and so beautifully executed.
janet
I really loved this, the imagery works beautifully.
oh that is an excellent image… and how all the parts together make sense…how the pattern emerges.. the frayed seems and the work it needs to mend… really love this one much k.
Wow, Kathleen, this is the finest example of metaphoric art poetics I have ever encountered; just masterful–your second stanza is very strong, resonates like a tuning fork for me, and the closing stanza is killer. As Victoria stated, I pressed the LIKE button two dozen times; just gorgeous, & how nice to get a peek at the dVerse poets other artistic talents.
oh, Kathleen – this one has to be one of my favorites – what an apt analogy! a quilted life – all the little bits of a person stitched together… just beautiful 🙂
Thanks, Sarah – so happy you liked it!
I’ve heard the term “my life as a quilt”, I think there is a movie or book….but this is done in a very compelling way…worth saving 😉
Oh this is really one of the most wonderful metaphors for life that I have ever read. Just gorgeous!
Very cool fabric of our lives
The first three lines and the closing stanza are my favorites.
another of your hidden talents… sewing… lovely write and is that husband of your signing in front of people yet
original and seamless 🙂
I wish I could click “Like” over and over again. Truly original metaphor so well expressed. A perfect read when one is feeling a bit tattered.
The image of a whole life in that artful quilt .. I really like that.. each patch yet an addition to a life fulfilled…