HMONG CROSS-STITCH SQUARES

In Cambodia, her sister works in patterns
          learned by heart in red and blue and green.
Needles dive through warp and weft.

of pure black wool. Each counted cross-stitch
          so small, labyrinths bead
and swirl in four inch squares.

Ancient hill tribes, once safe above
          the delta, knit by bamboo
jungles, scatter into foreign lands.

Hmong women wear their wealth, some sell
          it square-by-square -- five dollars
for ten hours of hand-stitched work.

Refugees of appliqué, reversed
          and cross-stitch
patterns crafted from the back.

Purchase landscaped prayers
          on curving paths --
Weigh what lays resting

in your hands.