“Anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you.”

                                                          -David Whyte, from “Sweet Darkness”

 

Too small,

like the lovely and stylish sweater

you find on the thrift store rack,

glinting from its space

between faded blouses and well-loved

T-shirts, the sweater you try on,

and even though it’s tight

in the shoulders

and short in the arms,

it’s such a nice color and so soft, and

there’s the possibility

of washing it in cold water

and trying to stretch it out,

the sweater you end up buying

and wearing to work on Monday,

spending the whole day tugging

the sleeves down and feeling

like a boa constrictor is wrapped

around your torso, the sweater

you hang back in your closet anyway

and wear a few more times, hoping,

just hoping, you might shrink

or it might stretch,

the sweater

that never quite fits.