Thursday, January 7, 2010

the song of the shirt



It has dawned cool and overcast today. When I got up I added a long-sleeved shirt to my usual shorts-and-T-shirt fashion statement. And the shirt I pulled off the rack? One that belonged to my sister. I remember when she bought it from a catalog from J. Jill. I have a blue one that she admired so she got this beautiful white one. It has little knotted buttons and loops instead of buttonholes, a mandarin collar and a nice, full cut. Perfect beach cover-up. I like wearing it; it keeps her with me.

First Stanza

With fingers weary and worn,
With eyelids heavy and red,
A woman sat, in unwomanly rags,
Plying her needle and thread--
Stitch! stitch! stitch!
In poverty, hunger, and dirt,
And still with a voice of dolorous pitch
She sang the "Song of the Shirt."
Thomas Hood - 1843


1 comment:

Kaley D. said...

I am learning, slowly, all the many ways to keep her with me, too. Great post. Glad you're wearing the shirt!
K-O xx