by Jen Schneider
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| Madeleine Albright: Diplomat used brooches, costume jewelry pins to “deliver a message.” —USA Today, March 23, 2022. Photo source: Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection at The National Museum Of American Diplomacy. |
jacket lapels of cranberry-indigo wools,
layered of lilac, lavender, & tiny tools.
crisp cottons. starched collars.
rays & arrays of hints, habits, & hues
accompany fabrics dedicated to service dues.
tucked. tied. tuned.
ready to acknowledge a sharp foil
with snakes that silently coil.
blue birds & butterflies wings.
statues of liberty & balloons on strings.
carnivores. gold-tone monkeys.
stings of yellow resin bees.
crabs & red enamel ladybugs
atop sharp wit, knits
& heels crossing rugs
so much more than a bunch of brooches.
finely tuned adornments. full of endorsements.
Jen Schneider is an educator who lives, writes, and works in small spaces throughout Pennsylvania. Recent works include A Collection of Recollections, Invisible Ink, On Habits & Habitats, and Blindfolds, Bruises, and Breakups.