A Poem a Day (173): Woman with suitcase

A poem from a black-and-white photograph.

Woman with suitcase 

Stone-faced, dark-haired,

This woman in a thin dress
Lifts a suitcase on her shoulders,
Carries it high, her boy gripping
The end of her skirt, skipping.

Her scuffed shoes her only pair,
This flowery dress her only one.
She leaves the house of marriage
And this time she doesn’t care.

An old man watches them trudge
The withered yellow grasses
From a dark window. This sun
Bakes like hot condemnation
In sympathy with his son.

The woman doesn’t look back
Or falter in her stride. Family
Will greet her at the crossing
Between this life and her next. 

Copyright Vickie Johnstone, June 12, 2020