Fabricating

Here's another poem from my 2007 book, Scattered Showers in a Clear Sky.

It's sort of a sonnet I wrote for my old friend Dorothy Mabey, who taught across the hall from me in Petersburg Virginia in the 1980's. 

Fabricating

 

The clothing did not fall from you in tatters,

nor did your feet swell these 40 years.

The Goodwill store sells everything that matters.

Forget the Lord and Taylor, all your fears

are smothered in the well worn corduroy

The warm grey sweater sent to you with love

Each time you wear it I can feel your joy.

Reject stiff clothing, that which does not give,

the labels biting back into the neck.

the slippery polyester you once wore.

Embrace the blouse so fine it feels like silk.

The cotton blouse whose ironing was a chore.

Choose vibrant reds and purples from the rack.

Discover cashmere that the rich gave back.