out Santa Cruz way, I keep
wearing
this itchy black wool
sweater
saggy, all over pilled,
elbows thinning
crusty with egg at the
left wrist
speckled white with
feathers
& dust, tiny scraps of
paper
cat & human hair.
Northern California seldom
warms
to straight-up T-shirt
weather.
Some Junes are very cold
like the June I bought
this Armani
on a morning that felt
like snow
this sweater that zips &
cowls
even snaps beneath my neck
& replaces the itchy
black wool turtleneck
knitted by some woman
during the war for a
soldier
handed somehow down to me
to wear from freshman year
until my fifties —
resewn over & over
at armpits, wrist, &
neck.
I have nicer zip-ups from
Old Navy
a thick white soapy cotton
a soft gray wool
for wearing when I’m out
but the itchy saggy black
sweater is only
for home, for a cat to
curl up on
preferably with me inside.
— 29
May 2013
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