Quilt Bonding

People who are diagnosed with AIDS are often looked as "downgrading" or gross."   In the book, Rereading America, there is a section labeled Harmony at Home. In my Composition class we took a look at the poem, Aunt Ida Pieces a Quilt by, Melvin Dixon. My first reaction to the poem was, what was the reason the quilt was so important to them and why is this family coming together to the family member rather than look at them as "gross."

After reading this poem it made me understand a lot more about family. Obviously coming from a strong family support system I had a decent understanding about family, but I definitely made me realize many different things. A lot of things seemed to make me think as to why Melvin Dixon was writing this. Melvin Dixon (Dixon, p.) says Ida's niece Francine tells her people are knitting  all around the world. I really had to stop and think about what Ida had meant. In the beginning of the poem I had a good understanding that Ida was making a quilt with the rest of her family in remembrance of Junie. I came to realize I'm sure other family's in today's society do this. I assume t's just a way to cope with the death of a loved one.

Another idea that was exciting was how Ida had said, " On every last one of them I sew my name Ida
on the backside in red thread." Ida explains, "That every one of her quilts are made special with her named stitched on the back with red thread. I think this symbolizes Ida's strong passion for family and her love for her family.

I think after taking time to reflect on the poem, I have one thing that really stands out while I do so. Making quilts was a huge thing to Ida to get the whole family is just a symbol. I believe Ida's family resembles a quote. When I think of a quilt I think of a strong stitched, warm, security blanket. When Ida's family has a loss in the family or even a new edition, they come together because they think highly of strong emotional support to be a successful family. I don't think Ida even realizes that the quilt actually resembles her family. To Ida I think it's just like how some families eat meals as a family. Families just think it helps better their family and is the right thing to do. Ida thinks knitting quilts is just what her family has to do for a family loss or new edition to her family. Maybe it's a way to celebrate the time they had or the time they will have with their family member.