This piece is part of our “Tails + Tales” teen summer writing initiative inspired by the 2021 national summer reading theme chosen annually by the Collaborative Summer Library Program.
Sewing
Folding over a piece of cloth to hem the end and feeding it to the machine
Nimble fingers
Slight wrinkles
Rough from scrubbing dishes and fixing chairs
Scarred from the ceiling fan she touched as a child and the hot comb she uses to straighten my hair
The smell that wafts off of her is something like a mix between pork sausage and efo elegusi
The wafer-thin, polished needle making marvelous masterpieces
Like the jungle, with bullets raining down and plunging thread into woven worlds
“Why do you do this, maami? Why sew these clothes when you know you will outgrow them soon?”
She gazes at me and smiles gently
with warm eyes that don’t judge
at least not too harshly
“Why eat when you will die soon?”
I can’t make heads or tails out of the question, so I stare back at her fingers as they fold again
They move quickly, too quickly for me to understand the gestures
But I know that they make relics, not just clothes
Things that I will clutch to my chest and sob into when she is no longer able to move her fingers in this way
the thought brings tears to my eyes
So I push it away
And think instead about the gorgeous, native
Gele, iro, and buba
That will result
Phebe Emmanuel is a 13-year-old girl from Seattle, Washington. She enjoys drawing, writing, and singing, and she plays the violin as well as the piano. She has written a novel, is currently working on another, and hopes to publish them both someday. She entered the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in 7th grade and was awarded an honorable mention. The following year, she entered again and was awarded two honorable mentions, three silver keys, and one gold key. This is her debut poetry publication.
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