Crocheting

Each poem in this sequence was inspired by the name of a crochet pattern. First published in Presence #57, March 2017, page 47. Originally written 10–23 November 2002. Also see “Star Wheel” and my microchapbook Star Wheel (Origami Poems Project, 2020).

wedding table

a disposable camera

by the couple’s name

*

summer garden—

dad’s old hoe

saved for kindling

*

dawn of the day—

red leaves blow off

the kitchen skylight

*

she tells me

I’m her heart’s desire . . .

budding blossoms

*

daisy chain—

the fourth grader adds a link

to the teacher’s

*

a calm sea—

she points out

her magic star

*

unmowed field—

prairie flowers

mark the end zone

*

April morning—

the smell of fresh paint

through a bedroom window