Spinner, Carolina Cotton Mill, 1908

SPINNER, CAROLINA COTTON MILL, 1908 / Michael Pfeifer from a photograph by Lewis W. Hine The braided hair smells of wood smoke. It is worn to the left for luck with machines. Tied with a white cotton rag to mark it for someone. One button is missing from the front of a dress of close pinstripes. The fingers wear smooth from touching threads— to make them mean something in the end. Like rhododendron, resilient and plain-spoken in winter mountain light, hers is a face no one could touch for fear of changing it; the way no one can touch a wave from its beginning to its end. What is lost remains lost is its testament. 24 · The Missouri Review ...