Cutting her dress

The robe flows around her body
like ribbons strung from a Maypole
trembling in a breeze.

Upbeat and encouraging, the assistant
had congratulated her on the fit of her dress
the shade that had brightened her complexion

Stitch by stitch she had
taken in the cut
cropped the waist,
sewn the seams in her mind

Last night she
traced the model
on yellowed newspaper
cut it from the kingsize sheet
no longer needed

In the dress shop window
she sees her reflection.
How she wishes he would admire
the roses of her robe
imprinted on the forget-me-not ribbons –
the bouquet she arranged
to celebrate his life.

Petra Vergunst is a freelance community artist, composer and poet. Cutting her Dress was written as part of her project Have: Not Have in which she explores ideas of possession and dispossession and what these mean to us in our personal lives.

http://www.musicforcommunities.blogspot.com