Michael Longley, "Patchwork"

[the_grynne]

PATCHWORK

I
There are ribbons that hold you together,
Hooks and eyes, hollows at the collarbone,

As though you dismantle your skeleton
Before stepping out of the crumpled ring,

Your nipples under my fingertips
Like white flowers on a white ground.

II
I pull over us old clothes, remnants,
Stitching together shirts and nightshirts

Into such a dazzle as will burn away
Newspapers, letters, previous templates,

The hearth too, a red patch at the centre
That scorches the walls and our low ceiling.

MICHAEL LONGLEY