Tuesday, January 14, 2014

"quilting," by Lucille Clifton


quilting
-Lucille Clifton


1                     somewhere in the unknown world
2                     a yellow eyed woman
3                     sits with her daughter
4                     quilting.

5                     some other where
6                     alchemists* mumble over pots.
7                     their chemistry stirs
8                     into science, their science
9                     freezes into stone.

10                 in the unknown world
11                 the woman
12                 threading together her need
13                 and her needle
14                 nods toward the smiling girl
15                 remember
16                 this will keep us warm.

17                 how does this poem end?
18                             do the daughters’ daughters quilt?
19                             do the alchemists practice their tables?
20                             do the worlds continue spinning
21                             away from each other forever?

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