By: Melanie Barbato

A woman with mud-smeared face
A woman not burnt by the flame
A woman in hiding
Among neighbours and friends

A woman and her four children
Their cornrow hair
Done for the day
A woman nervously fiddling
A woman who’s come a long way
A woman joining the men
In their song

Tourists
Seekers
Two giggling girls
A seated procession
A string of pearls

Women at the baths
Waiting
To be run through her marble hands

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Melanie Barbato is currently completing her doctoral studies in Indology and Religious Studies at LMU Munich/ Germany. Her poetry is inspired by her academic background, her family and her Catholic faith.