Little House in the Big Thicket
A yellow light glowed from the window framed in lace
curtains, as smoke snaked from the chimney to the tall pines
surrounding the little house in the thicket. There was only a
quilting frame, two wooden chairs and a Bible in the living
room where Ms. Dickens and Ms. Danell spent their days.
The two old women discussed their husbands, their
children, the weather and the crops, while creating
quilts with hundreds of teeny tiny stiches, piece by piece.
They stitched year in and year out, through wars, thirteen
presidents and women achieving the right to vote.
Quilts from scraps of red and yellow flowers formed
the base, while triangles of small floral prints and solid
colors created the triangle within squares pattern.
Scraps from dresses, shirts, coats and pants made
for husbands and children to wear long ago.
A labor of love, made with gnarled hands that kneaded
dough, rocked babies to sleep and stirred soup pots.
Quilts that now grace the beds and walls of relatives,
who never saw the little house in the Big Thicket, or
the women, who now live only in each teeny tiny stitch.
Placed as Juried Poet in the Houston Poetry Festival 2011
To be published in Houston Poetry Festival anthology
You are reading Poet on Poetry at http://poetonpoetry.blogspot.com
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10 comments:
Very nice. Love it.
Patty
http://www.airpoetry.com
Thank you, Patty. I am glad you like it.
Its so nice,love it.
Thank you, Egypt4Us!
Really nice write. There's a realness here, I love the way it came to form. Thanks for the read:)
Thanks, Fred. I do strive for realness in my writing. (and I still have the quilt) :)
Very very nice. Gave me chills.
Wow, Anora, that's about the best compliment ever! Thank you.
Nicely done! Love the last stanza the best.
Thank you, Joanne. I think the last stanza could stand alone as a poem. :) I love getting the feedback.
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