Deborah Kegley wrote this after a day of paper making and poetry at the Forum in Wichita Falls. Thanks, Deborah!

In Appreciation of the Evening Interlude
Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Of course, the warp was laid long before we got there.
Long strings of emails, phone calls, meetings, venue confirmations.
Those who laid it may remember tangles, knots, and careful splicing.
All we saw were perfect strands, ready for the weaving.

Any weaver knows the first few rows of weft are crucial.
They may be turned back later, but they set up all the rest.
Lights on, readings timed, peppers, bread and daisies.
            books arranged, guitar tuned, couching mat and fiber:
Master weavers throw the shuttle, beat the selvedge tight.

Ready? Now! Watch the shuttles dance!

Conversation, hugs and handshakes, “Join us at our table.”
Spoons and tongs, cream puffs, soup, “Shall I bring you some wine?”
Over, under, through it all in the quiet spaces,
Time borrowed, love remembered, letters, friends, and fireweed:
            poems, called up off the page and riffed out on the fly.
We saw Coptic binding, twice the challenge stitched up on fingers,
            and burlap fiber, couched to catch a distant poet’s song.
Threaded through it all, guitar strings wove their magic.
            Skillful fingers marked the time and made our spirits sing.

It’s tied and off the loom now. We toast the master weavers
            and hang the freeform tapestry
                  and hope to weave again.

…and thanks to Antuan Simmons, Sheri Sutton, Jim Hoggard, Regina Schroeder, Kenny Hada, and all the wonderful people in Wichita Falls who made this event possible.