THE WATER HOLE:

Lake sides, river sides, wells, fountains & water holes,

Walking often for miles, upon hardened cracked soles,

Women get together, gathering, from near & far away,

With buckets upon their heads & hips that gaily sway.

 

Sloshing water, into clay pots, pans, ewers & old tin cans,

Kneeling on flat stones, washing clothes with sudsy hands,

Their voices echoing through the eons, all the latest gossip,

Babes in arms & upon their backs, given thirst-slaking sips.

 

Water stored, tired skins refreshed & clothes duly washed,

All children bathed in bubbles & in water, played & sloshed,

Refreshed now, to face that long & arduous trek back home,

Moist songs upon their tongues, replacing their arid moans.

 

All feminine lives, gathering, wherever clean waters flow,

Friends meet, laughter, words, dancing on winds that blow,

With jokes jested, duties done & all latest news imparted,

Farewells bid to old friends & from oasis, they then departed.