The colours we’ve worn are fading.
They’ve been bleached by the sun,
left on the clothesline too long.
Materials amassed by the hands of hope
washed ashore like faceless pebbles
looking for a land to smooth away the rougher edges,
a place to settle in the earth.
Those colours, threads connecting people
woven into a textile of language, culture and heritage.
Colours refracted, like a prism, caught between
barstools, classrooms, offices and kitchen tables
creating a rainbow, the kind we’ve always wished upon.
A fanned out tapestry stitched together by our ancestors,
who toiled with their mismatched yarn to create this life.
With scissor tongues sharpened by fear
the very fabric of what has held us together
is being cut apart, left in shreds like a tattered
flag helpless against the wind. The ideals that
clothed us, hang off us now, we stand awkwardly
like children in adults clothing playing dress-up
in something that doesn’t look or feel quite right.
To go outside, we find it again, nature’s palette
before our eyes, bright and diverse the way it was
intended to be. A migration of the birds skein
across the sky reminding us of the spots that need to
be repaired. The first gaping hole needs a darning.
Who will pick up the stitch, knitting up the wound,
before we become completely unravelled?
©TAK Erzinger
Author: TAK
Email: [email protected]
Author Bio: TAK Erzinger is an American/Swiss poet, artist and teacher. Her poems have been published or are forthcoming in The Cirrus Poetry Review, The Mojave He[art] Review, Nature Writing, The Beautiful Space, The Curlew and I-70 Review. Her close relationship with nature and her struggles with PTSD feature prominently in her poems. The themes in her poetry touch upon varying degrees of loss, forgiveness and healing, as well as some social commentary. To discover her illustrations go to @takerzinger on Instagram.
Link to social media or website: https://takerzinger.wixsite.com/poet
