The Scarf Maker (13 years after Syria’s Arab Spring) Dec. 19, 2024

spools of color surround him

like turrets of a wool castle

he pulls and pokes the yarn loops

into crisscrossing knots to build

width as the pattern shapes length

widowed alone he works every day

in front of his bombed-out home

the expression under his dark eyes

hidden by the first scarf he made

thirteen years ago

after he’d lost everything

here men wear them tightly

around the neck and face

from bad news and cold weather

but on this warm winter morning

it feels different than other

hints of spring

he lowers his scarf and smiles

here comes the first customer

of a strange new day