Scarlet

 

 

A scarlet thread

Burns long, thin

Where I stand,

Intersecting Sunday

And the corner

Of my heart–

Hungry for red.

 

 

I know the thread,

The very one

It pulls me to your neck

and unfolds like silk.

 

 

I pull string taut

tie knot

so needle won’t slip

I have tied it

over and over again

yet seams rip

and heart splits.

 

 

A few crimson threads

fall to the floor

and  taste the hunger

of belonging—

scarlet burns.

Hearts leave trails of blood–

wounds are sealed

with a brush of red.

 

 

We are beauty wrought in secret

under a coat of crimson…

a breath of red

releases the curse.

 

 

If the button didn’t fall

slip out of the pocket

get lost on a Sunday–

I’d still be searching.

 

 

Wait for Sunday

Hunger all week

For crimson to hug your skin

And feel the warmth of red.

 

 

Can I say what is mine

and what is yours?

Can you tell me where

the scarlet thread ends?

 

 

He is scarlet

A coat of crimson

Covering me

Covering you

Tying us together

as one

No longer loose

No longer hanging

No longer alone.

 

 

 

A scarlet thread

Burns long, thin

Where I stand

Intersecting Sunday

And the corner

Of my heart–

Hungry for red.

 

***

This particular poem was inspired by a poem called “Coated” , written by L.L. Barkat, which can be read here.  Words used from that poem are: hungry, red, scarlet, coat, Sunday, alone, needle, button, thread, silk, secret, and neck.