by Nikki Giovanni
     （for Sally Sellers）
     Like a fading piece of cloth
     I am a failure
     No longer do I cover tables filled with food and laughter
     My seams are frayed my hems falling my strength no longer able
     To hold the hot and cold
     I wish for those first days
     When just woven I could keep water
     From seeping through
     Repelled stains with the tightness of my weave
     Dazzled the sunlight with my Reflection
     I grow old though pleased with my memories
     The tasks I can no longer complete
     Are balanced by the love of the tasks gone past
     I offer no apology only this plea：
     When I am frayed and strained and drizzle at the end
     Please someone cut a square and put me in a quilt
     That I might keep some child warm
     And some old person with no one else to talk to
     Will hear my whispers And cuddle near