Stitch by stitch he got

the hang of it – the gash

​

in his jeans constricted,

sealed into a pair of lips.

 

To be repaired, the fabric

must endure incision, bear

 

the needle’s see-saw rhythm

of mend and hurt. A continent

 

away, a father rubs ointment

into swollen knees. Tries

 

supplements, surgeries. Finally,

he phones his son, fibres of light

​

weaved underseas, just to hear

the hello he hasn’t heard in years.