William Pruitt
Midwinter Charm
yellow felt figure arms outstretched
red thread stitches her together
one faceted pink eye sewn on a black patch
the other a green threaded X with a strand of tiny
shining colored balls on one line of the X
her mouth a green irregular circle with
its own face, miniscule shimmering sham stones
of eyes and mouth
within the mouth.
she wears her felt heart stitched on in front,
which itself has a face with two silver eyes
and a mouth like a coat of arms
a raspberry tear falls from the pink eye
her black spaghetti braids have blue streaks
It’s a good luck charm Sue told me
when she gave it to me last week
on the third floor of Anderson Alley
by which she must have meant
it had been made in some divine presence
this week I have been visited by
a red fox
a six-point buck
and a raven up from the river valley
high and discreet in my neighbor’s Norway spruce.