The Seams That Hold Us Together Poem by Grant House

What stories might the stitches tell
Of times and people not so long past
Their hoped for futures
Written and imbedded
In the seams
That hold us together?

What stories might they tell
When we put on our clothes each day?
Whose life story is embedded in those seams?
What would those stitches reveal
If we could hear that particular woman speaking to us
Across the world
Her artifact
Her contribution to our comfort
The consequence of so much more work
Than we could ever imagine?

What more might she say than
Made in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Belize
Hecho en Mexico, Indonesia, Vietnam
Made in the USA?

I want to know who she was
And what her day was like
What birdsong caught her attention
As she walked into the factory
And her children's and unconceived grandchildren's names
And what she said to the person next to her
And the music in her ears
While she was sewing my new look
The one that made that impression
Got me that job
Then later in the evening
Witnessed the passionate moment
That changed our lives forever
And yet finds its way
Into the corner of the closet
Crumpled
Waiting to be thrown in with the rest of the laundry.

What stories might these seams tell
Of the spirits of those who serve the world this way?
These people who sew
Who were they then?
Who are they now?
How are they doing?
That is what I want to know.

by Grant House