TEN YEARS LATER

Candle lit, I say as much
of the Hebrew prayer as I remember.
Time to choose an outfit to wear
for a friend’s retirement party.

Taking off a pair of silky pants,
too long now for my diminished height,
I add it to the growing mound
of tried-on clothes needing to be fixed.

After you left us,
a concentration on sewing
helped to mend me, but now
I see the backstitching doesn’t hold.