New poems from this year's Emily Dickinson marathon

I noticed -
when I read -
the time seems
not enough.
But when just listening -
the last half hour
seems to last forever.

I'd like to see
my own self read -
and hear me, too,
but for such vanity -
there's not technology -
except do-it-yourself.

The voices, the faces,
and the white garments
of my fellow readers
bring me joy, pause.
Alas, my shirt - striped
and embroidered -
from my village -
will suffice.

I love Emily’s mention of mills -
Of course, the mills all moved
From New England to NC
After the war - where labor was cheaper.
Then the same mills all moved
From NC to Vietnam - after that war.
When mills move, jobs also depart -
And that’s how we know who lost.
We found a 14-liner among the rest.
I dare not call it a sonnet - the experts
Might protest. But it was there,
Plain as day to any eyes that see
Or minds that count. It even had a volta
In its place. I read my sentence - steadily -

She often mentions bumble bees
And many purple things –
She’s clearly been in love
A time or two.

She speaks of business deals
And such. You’d think
She has an MBA at least.

She must live near
A shipping port. She knows
That trade as well.

She also loves geometry!
And all her threads
On immortality suggest
she has a strategy
for her escape at last.