Voices of Modern Culture

Activity 1.2continuedClass Culture QuiltMy Notes25303540your michigan spring faded curtain piecesmy father’s santa fe work shirtthe summer denims, the tweeds of fallin the evening you sat at your canvas—our cracked linoleum floor the drawing boardme lounging on your armand you staking out the plan:whether to put the lilac purple of easter against the redplaid of winter-goinginto-springwhether to mix a yellow with blue and white and paint thecorpus christi noon when my father held your handwhether to shape a five-point star from thesomber black silk you wore to grandmother’s funeralyou were the river currentcarrying the roaring notes . . .forming them into pictures of a little boy reclininga swallow flyingyou were the caravan master at the reinsdriving your thread needle artillery across the mosaic cloth bridgesdelivering yourself in separate testimonies455055oh mother you plunged me sobbing and laughinginto our pastinto the river crossing at fiveinto the spinach fieldsinto the plainview cotton rowsinto tuberculosis wardsinto braids and muslin dressessewn hard and taut to withstand the thrashings of twenty-five yearsstretched out they layarmed/ready/shouting/celebratingknotted with lovethe quilts sing on© 2011 College Board. All rights reserved. SpringBoard® English Textual Power Level 5