Queries of Concern

Mother sits at her sewing machine and questions the world
She attaches a button, then a zipper, and the seams of a dress
There she sits and counts the stitches between each frill

Mother frowns, counting again the number she should remember
But she doesn’t seem to hold them in her mind as she once did
With each frill and each stitch, she begins to question herself

How old was she when the world became so distant from her?
Did she always have callous on her hands or were they new?
She drums her finger on her machine and then goes back to sewing.

As if the questions meant nothing to her, she sews another frill
Then undoes it once more; her hands begin to tremble
Perhaps it’s more than a question or concern she fears

Each sound from the machine can not hide her worry from herself
With each new frill and hem, she realizes the questions won’t end
Her mind wonders if she could have lived differently than before

The machine hitches, and for now, she has to stop sewing.
The questions do not leave her as she walks away from the frills
She can not escape herself anymore; her queries of concern 

Having finally made a stance in her mind, she ponders them still.
Now, she must face herself without the humming of needles moving. 

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If you want to know more about my work, check out my latest poetry collection.