If sewing connects us with our sadness,
no wonder women have been so sad.
Stitch after stitch they reconnect
fabrics, piece together
those hanging on a tense, frayed thread.

Women quiet, by the hearth & fire,
or alone with a lamp by their beds,
are sewing pillows, coats, shirtsleeves,
mending socks,
are sewing quietly, day after day
pulling needle through fabric and back again,
sewing illusions for their heads.

© 1990 - 2003 Katharina Woodworth