Condolences by Thea Smiley

Condolences

They send me condolences.

I sew them together to make a dress of sadness.

I take their pity and make a hat

decorated with roses.

I catch their tears and hang each shining drop

on a chain around my neck.

My grief is stored in a dark place.

Rolls of sorrow are lodged inside me.

They’re tightly wound and weighty,

a coarse, sombre cloth I haven’t worn before.

If I can ever get it out and cut it,

I won’t be able to push a needle through it.

I don’t own a pattern for a gown of mourning.

I’ve never sewn with such a fragile thread.

So, I accept their condolences

and stitch them together to make this dress.

Thea Smiley is a poet from Suffolk. In 2025 she came second in the Yaffle’s Nest competition and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. This year her debut collection has been shortlisted by Live Canon, she came second in the Ver Poets Open competition, and won the Artemesia poetry competition.