A white wash cloth

My aunt Ruth knitted these white wash cloths
well into her nineties. They are made in cotton.

This year she died, 95 years old.



Today I was cleaning my kitchen sink, using
one of those white dish cloths.



She is no longer here, but the dish cloth is.

Then the thought came to me that so much of
what women have made through history, have
been practical things.

They cooked the food, but it was soon eaten up.
Perhaps somebody in the family remembered
the recipe.

They wove and made bedclothes and wall hangings.
Perhaps the wall hangings were kept.

They sew and knitted clothes for their children
and their families.
The clothes wore out.

My aunt's knitted wash cloth will still be here
for some time.
One day that too will be gone.