Men groan, lifting and tugging at machines.
Women knit. St. Justine has made a sweater
of red and yellow wool. Women groan,
tugging and lifting at machines. The sweater
is given a little carrier, tucked inside like
a small dog, a medium turtle, a large bird.
You asked for help with your glasses. I tucked
them behind your ears. See, on our first walk
into the spring woods, so many new trees
are broken by ice? Men and women lift and tug,
tug and lift machines. I will give you St. Justine’s
last project, this red and yellow wool. This
living thing.
Pediatrician, Kelley White has worked in inner city Philadelphia and rural New Hampshire. Her poems have appeared in Exquisite Corpse, Rattle and JAMA. Her most recent collection is NO. HOPE STREET (Kelsay Books). She received a 2008 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grant.
