Her Radio

She has her hair tied in a knot
listens to the radio and rarely smiles.
She lives in a small house in a village
with her brother and his family next door.
Her mother died three years ago and now her picture
adorns the wall with a black dress and destitute hands.
Her father died ten years ago and his medal of honour
from the state proudly hangs above the television.
Her son is working for his father her ex-husband and only now
has managed to be frank and look at her without avoiding her eyes.
Her daughter is hard-working independent and unsettled
and visits every now and then when work and life permit it.
She has been seeing a man for the past two years who
is married in another country and is here for work.

In the summer, when the heat makes
everyone's life come out in the open
she sits in her patio with her hair tied in a knot
listens to the radio and waters her plants.