Patchwork me  by pandorasecho

Patchwork me

Patchwork Me

I remember
Being so content
To sit on Grandma’s knee
And watch Grandma
make Patchwork quilts
She made one of me

A bright yellow piece
For my first Easter Dress
And a wooly pink patch
(I hate Pink)
That was my baby blanket
And a denim square
From my first jeans

And I’m still
Patchwork Me pieces that
Don’t seem to
go together
but they are

I’m a jumbled
Mixed up muddle
In a world
Crazy Quilts

I’m not quite finished
And I’ve got
Some loose threads
and snags
and stains
But I’ve also got
some pretty good patches
And I’m me
CRAZY
JUMBLED
HAPPY
ME


I wrote this poem in a high school creative writing class taught by Julie Schwindt. I adored her and she had a strange group of kids in that class but had us share so many thoughts and feelings that we were quite connected by the end of the semester. We had to assemble a portfolio of our writing and I was proud of the poems and stories but not interested in the esthetics so the lazy presentation makes me cringe now.
We had to read and respond to each others portfolios and the responses meant so much I still have them.

How I would write this today

Patchwork Me

I remember
Being so content
To sit on Grandma’s hide a bed sofa
And chew my blackjack gum
And watch Grandma
make Patchwork quilts
in her treadle sewing machine
Hands steady
Tip of her tongue
Flicking in and out
Between mustached lips

She made one of me

A bright yellow flower
On a black background
For my first Easter Dress
And a wooly pink patch
(I hated Pink
but now that I have a granddaughter
I love it
because
It’s so very Daisy)
That was my baby blanket sleeper
And a denim pocket
From my first jeans

I lived in jeans

And I’m still
Patchwork Me
pieces that
Don’t seem to
go together
but they are

I’m a jumbled
Mixed up muddle
In a world
Crazy Quilts

I’m not quite finished
And I’ve got
Some loose threads
and snags
and stains
But I’ve also got
some pretty great patches

And the greatest
Come from
Baby blankets
And boys t-shirts
And husband choir shirts
And Chinese robes
In jewel toned silks
And threadworn
And faded
Memories of
Grandma’s aprons

All the threads that make me me

And I’m me
STILL

CRAZY
JUMBLED
HAPPY
ME

Dixie Dawn Miller Goode, November 24, 2022
How wonderful to have such a personal memento of cherished memories. Love it.
November 24th, 2022  
Original
November 25th, 2022  
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