The Strength of Mexican Women by A. S. Maulucci (from The Land of Sun and Stone)

The women in Gauguin’s paintings

are earth-bound

and how natural they seem,

performing their daily tasks

with contentment and detachment.

In Mexico too

the women seem at peace with themselves

as they sit together pounding corn

or flattening tortillas with plump palms.

One wonders about their secret selves:

do they make their home life hell

with the cruelty of their discontent?

Are their husbands

pounded and flattened by cunning hands?

These women seem so barge-like and strong

like aged wood or leather or an open harbor,

their walk takes possession of the earth,

and in their eyes a look of ancient stars,

a spark of some dimly remembered ritual,

a time of worship that keeps them proud.

Though they seem to give no thought to heaven or hell,

they carry both within their hearts.