by Jade Riordan
I crochet rest in 4/4 time {1, 2, 3,
dream}. The ombre yarn of sleep
hooks & infinity scarves around
my bone-tired fingers. I pull, gently,
on a strand of shadow & contort
the solid mirror of my body in sync
-hrony: this rapid eye movement
slowed. Another strand, another
night, & sleep spindles twist &
prick the quiet of my thoughts. O,
my silhouette is appliquéd with
both Polaris & the Southern Cross:
the skies & lows of both celestial
poles. & here, at the peaks of
opposite hemispheres, I sprawl, my
limbs the mountain-valleys of delta
waves. I am hours of darkest NREM.
A body of unhooked yarn. But lying,
shadow-silent, in the {crochet}
pattern of light-waiting hours,
I {& I} rest in the impossible span
of the time between dreams.
Irish-Canadian poet JADE RIORDAN lives and writes north of 60 in the land of the midnight sun. She is currently a medical student at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in CV2, The Dalhousie Review, EVENT, The Malahat Review, Room, Vallum, and elsewhere.
Crochet Rest can be found in Augur Magazine Issue 3.1.
