Farmwife
The woman who has nodded to me from her porch
for weeks, still nodes now, bobs her head
leading me inside to see
21 grandchildren posed on a shelf,
sills full of colored glass.
Twice, I heard, she left her husband
and then returned
He stays outside with the dogs,
hollering them away from the barn.
Chickens flutter and squall,
leaving patches of brown feathers.
She says she’s been nodding 26 years.
The doctor calls it ‘the trembles’
but she knows something sharper
is pecking her brain.
Twice his fists have hit,
knocked her against the wall.
Twice she’s returned
to faces of grandchildren
perfectly still in the tilt
of their frames, glass
shining on every sill,
to hens squawking themselves into trees
whenever a dog comes near.
She sweeps up the puddles
of brown and white feathers
that fear send flying,
pours them into ticking
to cushion her relentless,
affirming head.
–Betsy Sholl
Arden, North Carolina. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2015
Women endure much…no easy answer…no easy way forward…
No, it hasn’t been easy being a woman. The Suffragettes showed us that if we work together, we will protect each other and we will prevail. Hugs, Barbara
Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
Heartfelt thanks for reblog. I am going to call you tomorrow. Fair warning. LOL
I am going to answer the phone…fair warning!!! 😉
Only a woman can understand another woman’s agony…beautifully penned…
Living a life centered on fear and violence is a living hell. Hugs, Barbara
The fear and loneliness is palpable!
You are right. It is so real. I have done intakes with women who smelled, literally smelled of fear. But we got her out and away. Hugs, Barbara