From first breath
to last, you weave
a cloth to carry you.
The universe, your loom,
your soul, the weaver.
Each new day,
you pull the weft
along your journey
over and under
the warp of days.
Textured yarns
in unknown colors
tell the stories of you,
Becoming visible
with each toss
of the shuttle back
and forth. At last,
in the weave,
your story reveals
its meaning.
When the day comes
for you to go, your hand-
crafted stole enfolds you,
warming your way
to the next life.
Lisa Vihos
The poems of Lisa Vihos have appeared in many poetry journals, both print and online. She has published four chapbooks, and has received two Pushcart Prize nominations and numerous awards from the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters. She is the Sheboygan organizer for 100 Thousand Poets for Change. In 2020, she was named the first poet laureate of Sheboygan. Her first novel, The Lone Snake: The Story of Sofonisba Anguissola, was released in May, 2022 from Water’s Edge Press.
Portage Magazine 