Sunday 12 July 2020

Silent, Their Men Stand by

Dear Reader


My poem this week 'Silent, their men stand by" I thought of when I was staying in Marrakesh  one autumn.  My husband and I were staying in small chalet in the garden of a lovely hotel in the mountains
not far from the desert and the Berber tribesmen.  We had a local girl to clean the room and I became very friendly with her.  But she didn't speak a word of English and I didn't know a word in her language.

But somehow we managed to communicate, laughed together and shed a tear when we left.  And Geoffrey
was astounded.  "What on earth did you say to her, he asked me.  You don't speak her language".  But of course I do in a way.  It is the smile, the shrug, the laughter, the tears.  These are universal gestures of being human and easy to  interpret. She was just another woman, with all the hopes and fears all women have and I understood her perfectly.

                                                                          *

Silent, Their Men Stand By

as universal woman talks
with women
who are not friends,
or neighbours,
or women they know or love,
just women.

Their bonding thread
is laughter, touch, glance, cry,
instant understanding.

While silent, mystified, their men stand by.

                                                                       *

With very best wishes, Patricia

1 comment:

  1. I love this poem!
    It is so true - women have a universal language.

    Sue xx

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