bobbin n. 1. wooden spindle made at the factory in town. 2. noise maker; especially, one of an almost-matched pair struck repeatedly to establish a hollow rhythm to the tune of a table saw. 3. kaleidoscope filled with crystal beads and safety pins, aimed at a window to blur the edges of small objects held to the sky. 4. then telescope without glass to reduce the sky to a blue coin. 5. now candlestick kitsch. 6. for the lace maker in her room of spinning bones, a thing of weight to hold thread and tether work so delicate it might float away. 7. among childhood gifts from a grandmother who worked at the factory: a plaid suitcase, a gold photo frame, and boxes and boxes of empty bobbins.

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Diane LeBlanc is a writer, teacher, and book artist. She is the author of three poetry chapbooks: Sudden Geography (2014), Dancer with Good Sow (2008), and Hope in Zone Four (1998). Her essay “Work in Progress” appears in Claiming Our Callings: Toward a New Understanding of Vocation in the Liberal Arts (Oxford University Press, 2014). Her poetry and prose appear in Bellingham Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, The Journal, Water~Stone, and other journals. Diane teaches writing and gender studies at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Website: www.dianeleblancwriter.com .