Who's got the button?

I shared with you my obsession for fabrics, but I have another confession.  I also am obsessed with buttons.  I have a collection of old buttons from various sources.  When you read this poem, maybe you can understand why I like them so much.

Buttons

Button, button, who’s got the button?

Remember that old game we used to play?

A guessing game, at no expense, to pass the time away,

A slight of hand, to fool everyone,

Oh what we used to do for fun!

Buttons, now one of my favorite items to collect, in fact;

I like the old, nostalgic ones, still on the card, intact,

I like the used ones taken from old clothing and found in bins,

When I have to search them out among the needles and the pins,

The different shapes intrigue me; round, square, oval and more eccentric ones,

Two holes, four holes or ones with a shank; there are tons and tons,

Big or small, black or white, thick or thin, red, orange, or blue,

Nautical, whimsical, beautiful, feminine, and functional -any of them will do,

I think about the whereabouts these buttons have been to date,

Who wore the coat or blouse these buttons adorned; what was their fate?

Buttons have an important job, like birds of a feather,

Button down or button up!  They help us keep it all together!

Tammy Harvey  

written 6/13/2016

Here are a few of the many buttons in my collection: