Offcut Queen

Last client gone
Shop light on
Yellow, blue, red on the cutting-room floor
They called it leftover
I called it mine

Friday, seven-oh-six, shutters halfway down
Three finished dresses hanging in clear bags
One for a birthday, one for an engagement
One for a woman who never asked the price
I have no outfit for my own Saturday
Only chalk on my fingers, pins in my sleeve
Yellow kitenge from a shortened hem
Blue satin strip from a bride's long train
Denim pocket, green lining, one gold zip
Every little piece too small alone
I turn the radio toward the sewing table
And stitch till the last bus leaves the road

Piece by piece, don't hide the seams
Let every color say where it has been
Needle down, foot on the machine
Tonight the leftovers enter like a queen

Offcut Queen, every color came alive
What they swept across the floor is dancing here tonight
Ask me who designed it—read my name along the seam
I made a dress from offcuts—call me Offcut Queen

Hem flick
Show it
Sleeve snap
Own it
Half turn, show the seam
Offcut Queen

Saturday, ten-fifteen, rooftop at full heat
I arrive late with thread still on my wrist
Door girl looks once, then leans toward the collar
Who made this? before she stamps me in
One strap slips during the second chorus
I fix it with a safety pin beside the bar
No hiding—I leave the silver pin showing
Now three girls ask where the dresses are
A camera phone moves close to the collar
My handwritten label sits inside
Made by Nia, room twelve, River Road
By Monday morning, six new orders wait

Piece by piece, don't hide the seams
Let every color say where it has been
Needle down, now lift your chin
The thing they overlooked is walking in

Offcut Queen, every color came alive
What they swept across the floor is dancing here tonight
Ask me who designed it—read my name along the seam
I made a dress from offcuts—call me Offcut Queen

Needle down
One
Foot press
Two
Hem flick
Three
Sleeve stretch
Four
Pin flash
Five
Half turn
Six
Show the label
Seven
Queen walk
Eight

All week I fitted other women's evenings
Measured hems, reworked sleeves, pressed seams flat
Swept my own colors into a corner
Called them scraps because the order was finished
But nothing on that floor was useless
It was waiting for the right arrangement
Nothing in me was leftover
I was waiting to sign my name

Offcut Queen, every color came alive
What they swept across the floor is lighting up the night
Silver pin, handwritten name, shining at the seam
I made a name from offcuts—call me Offcut Queen
Yellow, blue and red, every story can be seen
Nothing here is leftover when it carries my name clean

Monday, seven-oh-six, shutters going up
Six names written by the measuring tape
I hang my dress above the cutting table
Silver safety pin still catching light
Offcut Queen