Broken Seams Poking the needle with gray thread, the color of my mother’s eyes, I recall the days I learned to sew these neat stitches across fabric— acquired the skill to make something torn usable again. My mother was not a seamstress. She grieved when a button popped or a hole appeared. I remember standing by the bedroom door, seeing her weep over a blue blouse, damp eyes pressed into the silk. But the summer she returned from rehab, she dressed every day for two weeks, drove us to classes at Mary Ann Fabrics where we practiced, side by side, stitching hems and fastening buttons. And while she never mastered the skill herself, she’s still the reason I can sit in this chair today calmly repairing a broken seam.
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Jacqueline Jules is the author of the poetry chapbooks Field Trip to the Museum from Finishing Line Press and Stronger Than Cleopatra from ELJ publications. Her poetry has appeared in over 100 journals including Inkwell, Soundings Review, The Innisfree Poetry Journal, Gargoyle, Imitation Fruit, Calyx, Connecticut River Review, and Pirene’s Fountain. She is also the author of 30 books for young readers including the Zapato Power series and Never Say a Mean Word Again. Visit her online at http://jacquelinejules.com/mypoetry.htm
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