Old African Woman

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.

From Fragments of Earth, published by Voice Publications, 2006. Copyright, Colin Gordon-Farleigh