your needles, throughout my childhood and beyond
Tracy Davidson lives in Warwickshire, England, and writes poetry and flash fiction. Her work has appeared in various publications and anthologies.
The Clickety-Clack of Needles
I’ve kept back from the scores of charity bags
everything you ever knitted.
–
Even the really old stuff
I can’t remember you ever wearing.
–
Even the really naff stuff (sorry mum!)
I can’t believe you knitted in the first place.
–
The aesthetics don’t matter. Whether
I’ll wear things doesn’t matter.
–
What matters is the work you put in
to them, the hours, days, weeks
–
and months you spent sitting
on the sofa, clickety-clacking
–
your needles, throughout
my childhood and beyond.
–
I don’t want strangers rummaging through
your precious woollens, buying them
–
only to unpick them for the wool
or to re-use the buttons elsewhere.
–
I look at them and see you as you were
when they were made, healthy and happy.
–
I will treasure them, along with
those memories of you.
Tracy Davidson, Warwickshire
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