Threads

Widows:

Don’t turn away 

from the mirror. 

Keep looking 

at what you’re made of--cloth strong 

enough to be a flag and don’t forget 

he loved you 

for your spine 

that’s not crocheted but woven 

tight as burlap

and because your heart is spun 

of silk, 

its long threads pulled 

from countless other acts 

of metamorphoses.