Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Poetry Wednesday: "The Happy Seamstress"



An original composition, by my alter ego, as I sew a mid 19th C ballgown:

The Happy Seamstress

With patience and delight
I wind the thread through the sewing machine.
The strong cotton thread dances between the hooks
and the smooth metal spools
before slipping through the needle's eye.

It waits there, as though stopping for breath
before I bid it to dance again, in and out of the fabric.
The pedal makes a humming sound
and the bobbin twirls like a ballerina
to its electronic symphony.

I feel a creative bond with others who ply learn-ed trade.
The potter and his clay
The artist and her brush, loaded with paint
The blacksmith and his iron
The knitter and her basket of rainbow hued yarn, wools thin and thick.

Green satin slides across my table
as I guide it gently where I want it to go.
Inches and inches
Feet and feet
Yards and yards of it glide smoothly past three eyes, only two of which blink.

A ruffled trim now, and organza bows
Tiny pearl clusters in the centers
A waistband appears, and then a hem
This sea of green satin begins to take on shape and form
It is a dress now, almost.

One half of a beautiful gown, for a lady to wear with delight.
More satin waits expectantly for its turn to join the dance.
I smile with satisfaction and triumph as I try the finished part
on the dress form model- it's perfect!
More work ready for me tomorrow, I turn off the light and dream of things I love:

Thread, that holds my creations together.
Fabric, pleasant to see and feel.
Pins, that make my progress smooth and easy.
Ribbons, that tie ties and make pretty bows to decorate my fabric confections.
Happy and content, all of these await me when I wake.

3 comments:

  1. How lovely! I'm a bit of an amateur seamstress. I enjoy making medieval, renaissance and fantasy costumes. :)

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  2. Beautiful, both the painting and the poetry. You are super talented!

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  3. I tried to find out the artist, but the signature is too small to read and the page I got it from didn't have a source. I love watercolors, though, so I instantly chose this one over anything else Google offered. :)

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