Sampler

By Lora Berg
April 15, 2024

A phrase sways on a filament of sunbeam between fig branch and window screen

or
gets strung
   in chunks
    of silver
    as seen

  in Sanaa
        through stained
             glass, one
          bead strung

        below another
            to sway on
      a hook in the souk
         between wars
                     or
              ties
           a
           lure
           on
           one
           end
           and
           casts
           itself
           over
           water
           or
    taps sos
           … _ _ _ ...
                 like a brush
                                 on a snare

    or swings from the safety of a hammock woven in the warmth of the Yucatán,
now suspended between pines in a yard up north, a thought clinging to its comfort.

A current member of the Poetry Collective of Lighthouse Writers Workshop, Lora Berg writes with a light touch, sometimes on difficult topics. Lora has published a collaborative book with visual artist Canute Caliste, and poems in Shenandoah, Colorado Review and The Carolina Quarterly, etc. She served as a Poet-in-Residence at the Saint Albans School and holds an MFA from Johns Hopkins. Among hats, Lora has served as Cultural Attaché at U.S. Embassies abroad and lived in several countries.

Author's Note:

For embroiderers, a sampler consists of a piece of cloth on which embroidery motifs are practiced and stored for reference. My sampler on a page allowed me to practice different line lengths, learning their qualities and in a sense their personalities and desires.

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