Weave Room: What They Say

is mostly lost to the roar of the looms,
the sound they can feel in their soles
as they patrol the alleys
for breakdowns and broken ends.
But they say it anyway,
coming together,
putting a hand on a shoulder,
leaning in,
mouth to ear,
and then mouth to ear in reply,
almost letting lips brush the scalloped cup,
exchanging jokes, flirting, telling secrets,
all in shouts, mostly meaningless,
save for the breath the other can feel,
the warm, damp words like a lotion.

"Weave Room: What They Say" first appeared in The North Carolina Literary Review