Margaret Walther
Thumb Bell Fantasia
Amo las cosas loca, locamente (I have a crazy, crazy love of things) — Pablo Neruda indentations within indentations, rim bent, side bashed. humble protector, with little border of leaves, came from my grandmother, must have cloistered her index finger many times. found in her sewing box, along with compatriots. Frank A. Berger for Sheriff, not much used. Real Silk Hosiery Mills, Indianapolis, Indiana, perhaps fit her better. a fancy silver one with elaborate flower design, was it used at all? another which must have been made for a child—will not even cover my pinkie. guardians of the skin how many stories do you hold in your fault lines the oldest on record, brass, found in Pompeii. thimbles have been made of metal, wood, glass, porcelain, mother of pearl, rubber, whale bone, reindeer hide, marble, ivory. the most expensive on record sold for over $39,000—of gold and jewels, thought to be a gift from a Mogul court in India to Queen Elizabeth I. once used by prostitutes to tap on a window, announce their presence. by schoolmarms to tap the heads of unruly pupils. and in the 1800s, to measure the alcoholic spirits. miniature token in monopoly how often were you chosen to be used by a boy the thimble guild has hundreds for sale, none practical. mushroom house with little pink top and chimney. happy 50th birthday, Barbie. an elegant porcelain, Mother’s Day. moon landing, a gem —lunar module on its side, and if you peep through a little lens on the top of the thimble, you can see a view of Neil Armstrong. such a deal. yet—if you want the real deal, put on one from the past. old banged-up thimble, embedded with Grandma’s touch, her power—
Margaret Walther is a retired librarian from the Denver metro area and a past president of Columbine Poets, an organization to promote poetry in Colorado. She has been a guest editor for Buffalo Bones and has poems published or forthcoming in many journals, including Connecticut Review, anderbo.com, Ghoti, Quarterly West, Naugatuck River Review, Chickenpinata, and Nimrod. She won the Many Mountains Moving 2009 Poetry Contest.
