Roses Embroidered on the Seams of her Jeans

Roses embroidered
on the seams of her jeans
ascended vertically
from ankle to knee
then climbed her thigh
a pink so lush
I could inhale their perfume
from across the empty parking lot
a beaded barrette with a single rose
of the same strength of pink,
held her inky hair away from her face
her shirt painted with the blue of Montana sky
her shoes echoed shirt and sky
a color impossible to believe
then she so deeply hued moved
deliberate, focused, fragile
back held straight
all her concentration on each step
as if moving to a rhythm
only she could hear
of age and illness woven
desperate to reach her end
the sun glinted off
her tinkling silver bracelets
each weighted with turquoise
her gnarled ring-less fingers
clutched the chrome handle
of the women’s restroom door
in the distance the Crazy Mountains
framed us
two dark-haired women
with the same destination

5 thoughts on “Roses Embroidered on the Seams of her Jeans

  1. OMGOODNESS….YOU ARE LIVE!!!!!!! GRETA???????? THIS IS MAGNIFICENT! As soon as the link is done, YOU ARE ON MY BLOG ROLL!!!!!

  2. Dear Greta, Anita told me about your blog, and finally am here. I’ve been living a bit of a frustrated life, so busy that I never seem to get the time to do writing I’m actually interested in. All that by way of apology. I really like the Word Press format. I’ve never used it. Does it cost? Now to this poem. I really liked it when you read it to our group some months back, so it is really nice to see it here. I like the image of the old woman, who to me, for all her independence of spirit expressed in her style, seems much involved in trying to hold on to those symbols of youth and health: the stylish clothes (even if not exactly your or the reader’s cup of tea), her dark “inky” hair which is obviously colored or a wig, the way she consciously carries herself, her each step “to a rhythm / only she could hear / of age and illness…” And then at the end how both of you (both black haired but you being the younger) are headed for the same destination: at one level the bathroom, but ultimately to that destination we all must go?

    I just may have to create a blog like this because I really have no online place (other than with a former blogger named Ian via occasional email) where I can dialog about poetry we are reading and writing.

    All the best. See you at Open Voices tomorrow.
    Ruben

  3. Thanks for your comments on my poem. Word Press can be downloaded for free. It has been fun to work on my website/blog. Something totally new for. I’m following in Anita’s footsteps and yours. It is a whole new world.

  4. I just realized that in my last comment, I may have sound non-sympathetic to the woman (trying to hold on to the symbols of youth and heath). In fact I can sometimes relate to her quite well. Very sobering, this.
    Ruben

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *