(Still working on this...)
Pure white wool blanket
straight out of
the asylum, and
cut with sharp scissors
shaped, Singer-sewn, the lining
carved from red silk off-cuts
long roll collar, Raglan sleeves
blue scarf shoulder-draped -
all knotted fringes
I wear the whole ensemble-
complete with corsair swagger -
cracking image in the mirror
The tall boy smiles,
lifts a hand towards me -
tucks in the naughty fringes
curbing their message
of madness.
Such a contrast here between the beauty of the coat and the care taken with its making and then the final disturbing image. The last stanza makes the reader want to go back to the beginning and read all over again!
ReplyDelete