Still In Need
The Paean Of A Woman
The ceiling is still there
When she wakes.
Still white, still fading,
Still in need of paint.
Still she lays,
Waiting,
In the moment,
Her only moment
Of the day.
Soon they will wake,
Her man, her children,
Her family.
Soon they will ask of her
What they want.
Soon they will take from her
What they need.
And she will give herself to them,
All of herself
As always.
And later, when she is empty,
When she is finished,
And can’t remember
What she wanted
For herself,
She will go to bed
And lie back
And think of England,
Or some other foreign country.
And she will look up,
And stare at the ceiling,
Still fading,
Still in need.
