Three Women

Translated By Kelly Austin
Three women survive.
One hides in a bedroom of a house,
sharpening blades in the bathroom, her night.
Another disinfects the cloth her older sister contaminates.
The third, more tender and insecure, proud and serene,
        takes her first steps,
surrounded by palm trees, lemon trees, pomegranate trees,
        bougainvilleas, birds of paradise...
 

Copyright Credit: Olivia Maciel, "Three Women" from Shadow in Silver. Copyright © 2005 by Olivia Maciel. Translation copyright © 2005 by Kelly Austin and Swan Isle Press. Reprinted by permission of Swan Isle Press.