Every day she wakes
And sews her shredded soul
Stitching seams
With threaded dreams,
Pretending she is whole.

As the day goes on
They loosen and untie,
She’ll cinch and bind
Them with her mind.
And smile. Sunlit lie.

They never hold for long,
The pain bleeds through bands.
She’ll cover it
With will and wit
For all the time she can.

The threads can’t stand the strain,
She heads for home, and then
They snap, and spill.
One night until
She’ll start it all again.

– s. Clark