Image by © Moyo Okediji, ‘Construction Work Lady,’ Akure, Nigeria, 2012.
Woman [Title]
after love is made
buried & forgotten
deep in the cushion
cradling life
she wakes
sedimentary minerals
float, suspended
safely, in the
amniotic bubble
she daydreams
prehistoric memories
lain down
by the tickle
of first words
through the
chamber wall
she closes her eyes
the foliation
is set, clear
parallel planes
metamorphosis
complete
she weeps
rare formed,
she resists forced
temperature & pressure
to crystallize
eternally
she toils
weathering
speaks to her
character & commitment
her crag is famous
admired & loved
she persists
fertility & survival
is the wage
flesh, bone, & blood
the cost of labor
she provides
silky nourishment
gushes through her
mountain ridges
to pools promising
health & strength,
measured only by
oppression
she knows
idleness is vanity
pride is folly, &
continual change
& chance
proceed death
she rests
a diamond in the rough
© Z. Hall, 2015
Dedicated to all women around the world who toil in the worst conditions: societal, employment, romantic, personal, familial, and all human relationships in between.
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