Retailoring

"I need a new life," I tell Alona, and she replies with a reminder from the past: "Turn the old one inside out and redesign it," the used fabric resuited.

Long ago, I used to unravel whole dresses,
knit suits that no longer seemed right,
jackets that pulled at the bust,
skirts whose looks were too matronly,
and spin them all into
my latest self.

Evenings on the telephone,
knitting sweaters of seasoned wool,
cutting down suits made for my father
of black market cloth,
rejoicing in the husbandry of it—
Bandi’s tux worn at secret trysts in Switzerland
transformed into a decadent sexy dress—
My mother’s cornflower two-piece
meant for unofficial but proper occasions—

Oh the possibilities
of making lives over
making them do
service: mine
wound up with those I love
 

© Karen Alkalay-Gut