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Bathtub Madonna Washes
her face with holy water
from the spigot
blessed because her hands
lift the water to her face
her hands which
stirred soup for her son
chicken and stars
(the stars taste better)
hands which wiped down the table
to make room for coloring books
hands which delivered soup two doors down
for a sister lost to breast cancer
hands which have always looked
as though they belong to someone much older
her hands which now begin to
ache at the joints in the morning
her hands which have a hard time
coming together in the mornings
to pray for her son and her mother
to ask why she is so sad at night
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About the Author: Wesley Scott McMasters writes, teaches, and lives in east Tennessee just within sight of the Great Smoky Mountains with his dog, Poet (who came with the name, he swears).
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Image Credit: Jack Delano “Field of beans on the farm of Gaetano Simone, Italian FSA (Farm Security Administration) client. Westville, Connecticut. Don’t know what the bathtub is for” (1940) Public Domain, The Library of Congress
