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| Display in Linen Shop |
At the Sign of the Piece of Linen
James Hart
You will find fine goods,
whole bolts of pristine cloth
the pale shopkeeper will unwind
for only your appraising eyes.
He will let your fingers
feel the linen’s infinite weave,
test its strength and suppleness
to choose an immaculate length.
He will dress your somber rituals:
tablecloths for laying feasts upon,
napkins nesting communion bread,
white sheets for a virgin’s bed.
You will find fine remnants
suitable for new pillow shams,
babies’ gowns—undeniably durable
for your eternal undergarments.
At the sign of the piece of linen
you will find fine goods,
clean as the unspotted snow
that shrouds your long way home.
James Hart
You will find fine goods,
whole bolts of pristine cloth
the pale shopkeeper will unwind
for only your appraising eyes.
He will let your fingers
feel the linen’s infinite weave,
test its strength and suppleness
to choose an immaculate length.
He will dress your somber rituals:
tablecloths for laying feasts upon,
napkins nesting communion bread,
white sheets for a virgin’s bed.
You will find fine remnants
suitable for new pillow shams,
babies’ gowns—undeniably durable
for your eternal undergarments.
At the sign of the piece of linen
you will find fine goods,
clean as the unspotted snow
that shrouds your long way home.
(Poem from an unpublished manuscript
entitled In the Countryside of the Dead)
Note on Title: I remember reading something years ago that mentioned a linen merchant in Elizabethan London who could be found "at the sign of the piece of linen." The words were "found poetry" for me, and I soon wrote this poem to take advantage of the phrase. Linen has been used for burial shrouds throughout history--most famously the Shroud of Turin.
Photo: Stacks of White Linen.
entitled In the Countryside of the Dead)
Note on Title: I remember reading something years ago that mentioned a linen merchant in Elizabethan London who could be found "at the sign of the piece of linen." The words were "found poetry" for me, and I soon wrote this poem to take advantage of the phrase. Linen has been used for burial shrouds throughout history--most famously the Shroud of Turin.
Photo: Stacks of White Linen.
Linen Merchants:
A Sign from Another Time
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| Jewish Linen Merchant - Glasgow, Scotland |
Two women outside Abraham Links' drapery shop in Main Street in the Gorbals, 1907. The top left hand window has lettering in Yiddish while the bottom right window has a similar message in English. Abraham Links (1886-1953) was a leading figure in the Zionist movement in Glasgow.
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