"to write a well-stitched poem..."

ah,
to write a
well-stitched
poem

to thread words together
in a fashion that
takes my breath away,
and  causes the
draping of
my inner landscape to
rustle and
flow
creating new canyons from
soft folds
and
wedding gowns from
vintage
pillowslips

to press into pleats the
soft lines of
round letters and
gather small syllables into
long words that
flounce off the tongue like
a young girl's petticoat
peeking coyly out from
beneath more
serious
skirts of brown
linen and above
riding boots
of saddle leather
so scuffed they
can no longer
hold a
shine.

to write a poem
that surprises and delights,
angers and
causes a grown man to weep and
women to dance like forest nymphs
under moonlit nights heavy with
sweet tea and
magnolia.

to thread an adverb so
deftly that
its companion
cannot find the seam between
their cleaving

to stitch a line of words so
straightforward and
true that
carpenters
use it to
find plumb and
sea captains
set their course by
its rule.

I long to write a
well-stitched
poem
one that will
stand the test of
time and
gather dust
between
her
stanzas