Old African Woman
In the rear-view mirror I see you;
your silent reflection
slowly passing behind my car.
The time-worn bones of your body
rag-wrapped,
bent, and slightly warped
by age and experience:
spine hunched, grotesquely,
neck pulled downward
by the dull-bright hanging
of the brass crucifix,
suspended by its heavy chain.
Constant mobility,
beating
on your empty breasts,
sucked dry of their vitality
by endless, eager lips.
Your steady, shuffling gait
a vague reminder of your
distant, proud withdrawal.
© 1978 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh
From 'Fragments of Earth',
published by Voice Publications, 2006.
ISBN: 978-0-9553583-1-0
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