an instrument for making fabric by weaving
The diagnosis: Briar Rose mapped every corridor
 in hunt of  her hurt, as if pulled by a thread. Curses
 can be softened, but not the spindle’s call. I know
 what I am destined for: Ariadne’s map, her trembling
 monsters pulled taut around my fingers. The ritalin
 cannot unweave me. My mind, the lowing of unseen
 minotaurs. The inevitable teeth. I do not fear the beasts
 of my own making. I fear the making. The sight
 of spool. It’s hereditary. My mother used to write
 me suicide notes. This is the only thread I have.
 There is a door, in a tower, somewhere. If  I push
 open its heavy wood, what will greet me? A loom.
 The specter of me, spinning. My body hung
 from the rafters. The thread finally stilled.
Source: Poetry (June 2024)


