Embroidery Aria (from Peter Grimes)

Benjamin Britten

Embroidery in childhood was a luxury of idleness.
A coil of silken thread giving dreams… of a silk and satin life.
Now my broidery affords the clue whose meaning we avoid!
My hands remembered its old skill
Those stitches tell a curious tale.
I remember I was brooding
On the fantasies of children…
And dreamt that only by wishing
I could bring some silk into their lives…
Now… my broidery affords the clue... whose meaning we avoid.