Crochet

She brings yarn around in her right hand.
She, left-handed, never learned to write
the right way. She ties off, casts on.
Sickness has taken its toll
on her body. When she parks
the tag hangs from her rearview mirror,
its indentation like a crochet hook.

Everyone will become disabled
at some point in their life, she’d read once
and laughed, her scorn for those
who could no longer carry goods
palpable as a god. She steals
a vial of eye cream from the drugstore,
tucks it in her purse. Darkness
gathers, seeps, supports kleptomania.

Judith Skillman’s new collection of poetry is Oppression, Shanti Arts. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Alabama Literary Review, Commonweal, North American Review, Threepenny Review, and other literary journals. She has received funding from The Academy of American Poets and Artist Trust.  Visit www.judithskillman.com and on Facebook, @jskillman54.bsky.social, on Instagram @judithskillman54, and on Twitter @judithskillman.