The lavender gentleladies gather, heads huddled
swapping gossip over clicking bamboo.

Flying fingers turn heels with sleight of hand,
pass slipped stitches into Shetland lace,

twine Fair Isle kaleidoscopes, harlequin intarsia,
snake Aran ropes and cables,

grow rows of basket, garter, stocking, moss,
diamonds and blackberries.

Working off-piste, without pattern,
their edgy craft eschews baby bonnets and booties;

conjures tiered wedding cakes, emoji peas,
magics minster gargoyles, mermaid tails.

Charmed creations are gifted with graceful smiles
– and mostly blessed with benevolence –

but beware of snags and spells, purls cast with curses
occult stitches dropped, ready to run, unravel.

Ann Gibson spent her childhood in Dublin and now lives in North Yorkshire. She has published poetry in Acumen, Prole, Orbis and Ariadne’s Thread magazines as well as online in Lighten Up Online, Snakeskin, Pulsar and Ofi Press. She has an MA in Literature Studies from York St John University.