Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine, Fall 2021

Woman and cloth skeined together and woven closely;
like the lash and brow is to the eye.
They cover the earth with it,
are born on it.
Cloth is fumbled and pushed aside,
the infant suckles the breast.
The bride is netted and laced,
the family is clothed, and the procession begins.
Houses are adorned with it,
beds thickly covered,
we towel and wipe dry.
Aprons circle the waist,
rising dough is covered loosely.
Little girls are ribboned.
Little boys are shoe stringed.
Life ends.
Softly cleansed, kind hands dress us.
A tear falls, caught by a handkerchief.
~ 1999
woman and
cloth
By Marion Davidek Sekelsky
17