Herminia Poem by RIC BASTASA

as usual she is silent
an absorber among the group
of the pioneering teachers
of the school

she dyes her hair
completely black to hide her age.
she married late
and got a drunkard and gambler
for a husband.

her silence is understandable.
what she hears she keeps to herself
but they won't stay long
she is full
of angst, stories about marital
abuse files her mind,
her children have grown up
and had lives of their own.

she is alone, like everybody else
in this party
what will she talk about? will she
make a complaint? will she pour
her regrets over a bottle of beer.

she is old enough. And time
is too short.
She listens. There is no other
thing worth doing
in this valley of tears.