Ode to a Sweatervest
O sweatervest that hast no voice, confide to me a voice,
O harvest of the closet — O boundless knitted sack,
O lavish appliqued scarecrow design — O infinite teeming autumnal embroidery,
A song to narrate thee.
All gather and all harvest ..
Harvest the yarn of Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, every heathered skein under thee,
Harvest the felt of Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, each sheet in its maize and orange glory,
Gather the gingham to myriad hat and scarf shapes in the odorous design,
Buttons to their plackets, swirly green leaf patterns of Michigan, to the fronts;
Gather the cotton in Mississippi or Alabama, knit then embellish
The golden curly fake straw hair of Georgia and the Carolinas,
Clip the wool of California or Pennsylvania,
Cut the boxy shape in the Middle States, or add brown yarny trim to the Borders,
Knit the crows and puff the leaves, or embroider flowers from the fields or bunches of pumpkins from the vines,
Or aught that defies fashion in all these States or North or South,
Under the beaming “Pumpkin Patch” sign and under thee.
– Pepe (heavily inspired by Walt Whitman)
I was so moved by this sweatervest to create poetry that I nearly didn’t notice how Alexis has masterfully combined the garment with capri-length red-and-white checked baggy overalls. View the full outfit here
And if you’d like to read Walt Whitman’s Ode to the Harvest, without my, er, edits, you can view it here