poetry

The Rug
by Marlinda Angbetic Tan

It was an elegant surprise
received
when two lives got
entwined
for better or for worse
long ago.

It has rings among garlands
of pink flowers;
only ribboned tapers
need complete
the happy motif,
it seems.

The elegance has faded,
scuffed pink threads,
pockmarked with acid holes
and cigarette burns, traces
of child-filled days
and long solitary nights.

It has its special pace:
worn and well-loved;
familiar,
despite use and abuse
intact.

Fern Garden: Anthology of Women Writing in the South, NCCA publication 1998

back to poetry | home