As part of my celebration of Pride Month, I picked up a copy of poet James Crews’ newest poetry anthology, Love is for All of Us, which he co-edited with his husband, Brad Peacock. It’s a wonderful collection of voices in verse from a diverse group of poets (some well-known, some just emerging; some queer, some allies) all in support of . . . love for all of us. If you like poetry anthologies, it’s a good one.

I’m sharing one of the poems from the anthology today . . .

Mending
by Alegria Barclay

I recently took up mending —
that simple task of renewal.
It’s harder than it seems
to put something back together again.
The ragged hole
somehow larger than the cloth left to cover it,
and yet I am drawn to this tangible act of repair —
the precise puncture point of the needle
making a new hole to fix the old,
the supple sound of thread drawing through fabric,
and then the repetition
prick, thread, prick, thread —
the mending a meditation
the meditation a mending.

I don’t know if I’m drawn to this
because the world has so many frayed edges
and I only have needle and thread
and my words to weave it back together.

Or perhaps it’s simply the best way
I know how to make things whole,
my head bent over
the ripped knees of my son’s jeans,
each stitch
both a patch and a prayer
to keep him safe
to keep us whole
to repair the world.

Today’s poem is included in Love is for All of Us: Poems of Tenderness and Belonging, edited by James Crews and Brad Peacock, illustrated by Lisa Congdon, and published by Storey Publishing in 2025. If you’re interested in reading more about today’s poet, Alegria Barclay, you can click here for a brief bio.

Enjoy your day, everyone.
Keep mending. Let’s repair the world!

==========

You can find A Gathering of Poetry every month . . . on the third Thursday.
Share some.
Read some.
Gather up some poetry!

(Bonny is hosting a special link-up for A Gathering of Poetry. Be sure to check it out!)