Nicole Yurcaba
The Embroidery (Vyshyvanka)
—for Stevan
Untamed emotion
residing in each intricate,
minute black or red “x”:
a pattern of red roses
and black leaves
planted on white backing
that identified the region
of a foreign grandfather’s village.
She wore hers around her small wrist,
but the embroidery she crafted for you
was too small for yours,
so you carefully stitched it
to your black leather motorcycle vest
in between the P.O.W.M.I.A. patch
and the Harley HOG member one.
Nicole Yurcaba hails from a long line of coal miners, Ukrainian immigrants and West Virginian mountain folk. She is a Developmental Education Coordinator at Eastern WV Community and Technical College. She recently completed her Master of Humanities in English at Tiffin University. Her work has appeared in print and online journals such as VoxPoetica, Referential Magazine, Rolling Thunder Quarterly, Decompression, Hobo Camp Review, The Camel Saloon, Jellyfish Whispers, Napalm and Novocaine, Floyd County Moonshine and many others. In life, she enjoys taking the unbeaten path, and usually exits the scene pursued by bear. Her first collection of poetry, Backwoods and Back Words, is available at www.unboundcontent.com.
The Embroidery (Vyshyvanka)
—for Stevan
Untamed emotion
residing in each intricate,
minute black or red “x”:
a pattern of red roses
and black leaves
planted on white backing
that identified the region
of a foreign grandfather’s village.
She wore hers around her small wrist,
but the embroidery she crafted for you
was too small for yours,
so you carefully stitched it
to your black leather motorcycle vest
in between the P.O.W.M.I.A. patch
and the Harley HOG member one.
Nicole Yurcaba hails from a long line of coal miners, Ukrainian immigrants and West Virginian mountain folk. She is a Developmental Education Coordinator at Eastern WV Community and Technical College. She recently completed her Master of Humanities in English at Tiffin University. Her work has appeared in print and online journals such as VoxPoetica, Referential Magazine, Rolling Thunder Quarterly, Decompression, Hobo Camp Review, The Camel Saloon, Jellyfish Whispers, Napalm and Novocaine, Floyd County Moonshine and many others. In life, she enjoys taking the unbeaten path, and usually exits the scene pursued by bear. Her first collection of poetry, Backwoods and Back Words, is available at www.unboundcontent.com.