Piecing It Together

The day stretches out ahead,
a simple project planned

taking scraps of material
from old clothes and other items
and piecing them together
to make a spread

large enough to cover
my queen sized bed.

What could be so difficult
about
that?

I select old T-shirts
I've saved
throughout the years,

Kinks, Stones
and Tanya Tucker

cut little squares
of different colors
placed together
to form a pattern

or maybe this time
I’ll create a picture
of a cottage tucked
away in the woods,

a landscape of pine trees and
snow capped mountains,
with woodland creatures
all around.

I sketch out the scene
taking newsprint taped together,
using details from several photographs,

then drawing it out
large enough to cover the bed.

This project will
take over several hours,
it won’t be done for days,
but once started
it can’t be stopped.

Orange for the sun’s glow,
and pink for the clouds,

different shades of green
for the forest,

and so many grays
for the walkways
and stone fence.

Pieces from
designer suits
sections from
party dresses
a few bits
cut

from clothes
I still wear.

Every selection
an occasion
that is important.

The new year’s
celebration when
he asked me to
marry him,

the baby blanket
from our first born,

the leisure suit
of the seventies.

Here is my first pair of jeans
it was hard to find a square
that was not badly
worn.

I’ve arranged
all the pieces by color
making sure each one
is recognizable
by the cloth it was
taken from

trapping each
memory

in time and place.

I didn’t expect
it to take so long
but it is finally done.

I can’t believe
I'm ready to
press it
then display
it on the wall.

After all...

a work of art this nice
shouldn't be wasted on the bed.