Pockets Are a Metaphor

Pick up sewing.
Mend your clothes.
Make new ones
so old fabric
gets another chance.

Join a group
that talks up
creativity and usefulness,
and doesn't pick
at fashion trends.

Borrow to get started
but loan once you're set.
Share fabric with others.
Sew things together.
Accept new styles.

Pull out an old coat.
Cut off the back.
Use the strips
and make pockets
deep enough.

Fill them
with threads
and safety pins
clinging to scraps
you're fond of.

Discard papers
scrawled with insults
and old homework slips,
but keep the numbers
of people who listen.

Your pockets aren't for hands
nor mere trinkets;
they hold words
your friends knitted for you
when they were new.

Carry with you
a kind warmth
from friends who know
that pockets are a metaphor
and love is best shared.