Picture of Thread and Sugar Children
after Vic Muniz's photographs
the shuttle blinking open and close
on the loom, it is never going backward
laying hues and tints that cannot be undone
it's being carefully marked by a kiss
the wink of an eye from the future
a small step in landing upright
it's a sea holding up the island
while the city hooks and sways
dawn in January, forgotten and crisp
the pages as nimble and bare as a first
a history book before it's written
and then that like our own past
turns over, remembering to do this
back on the streetcar before the New Year
where the statues are half-moved
a narrow walk from Julia to Lee Circle
a picture of a picture of sugar and smiles
it's the threadwork holding together the castle
© 2004 Megan Burns
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