Vogue

The Pattern (by Michael Longley)

"Thirty-six years, to the day, after our wedding
When a cold figure revealing wind blew against you
And lifted your veil, I find in its fat envelope
The six-shilling Vogue pattern for your bride's dress,
Complicated instructions for stitching bodice
And skirt, box pleats and hems, tissue paper outlines,
Semblances of skin which I nervously unfold
And hold up in snow-light, for snow has been falling
On this windless day, and I glimpse your wedding dress
And white shoes outside in the transformed garden
Where the clothes-lines and every twig have been covered."

Source: http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=3163