The Shirt / Suit

The Shirt / Suit

written by: Jen Schneider

from Czechoslovakia
to Budapest to Auschwitz to Home
pressed stitched threaded
souls
hems denied soles paths

body
unknown
from floor boy
to tailor to the stars

Greenfield stitched hope in nouns –
double-vested suits. oxfords.
and verbs –
stitch. thread. love.

each suit, a carefully tailored
story, a lesson
in grammar and gaits,
gains and now-distant trains

whistles continue to roar
come night.

each button, an adjective.
each cuff, a name.

the tag, a marker of numbers
and (s)miles made. Of seams
and made-to-fit monologues —

each suit, a collaborative effort
of saints and soldiers
crisp cuts and cut molds
clothes not only warm warn,
they speak words at high volumes.

a fine man, finely-tailored —

Star light star bright
Shine eternal
Of the stars tonight

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• About
• Latest Posts

Jen Schneider

Jen Schneider is an educator who lives, writes, and works in small spaces throughout Pennsylvania. She is a Best of the Net nominee, with stories, poems, and essays published in a wide variety of literary and scholarly journals. She is the author of A Collection of Recollections (Next Chapter), Invisible Ink (Toho Pub), On Daily Puzzles: (Un)locking Invisibility and On Crossroads and Fill in the Blank Puzzles (forthcoming, Moonstone Press), and Blindfolds, Bruises, and Breakups (forthcoming, Atmosphere Press).

Latest posts by Jen Schneider (see all)

• The Shirt / Suit - May 8, 2025
• Thoughts Threaded - January 27, 2025
• What’s Normal, Anyway? - September 16, 2024