Woman at the Well (Poem for Deta, Summer 2019)

One of Deta's many selfies taken via Facebook Messenger.

On Saturday, I attended Deta Galloway's annual birthday gallery show. She had many new paintings on display. With Deta, both her old and new art are on every wall in every room of her apartment, and it's sometimes hard to tell what's new. Luckily, she pointed out three of her most recent works.

"Woman at the Well," Deta Galloway

"Leaving Juarez," Deta Galloway

"Stand Up to Power," Deta Galloway

Additionally, I got to talk with Deta's granddaughter Kaelyn, who is staying with Deta for the summer.  She paints as well, using any canvas that isn't nailed down.

Deta's new paintings, and the current events they are based on, fed the poem. I used a title from one of the above paintings and incorporated ideas from all three. I'm out of my element when I write poems like these, as I noticed when I read aloud one of my prior Deta-inspired pieces this weekend. I still wanted to give it ago out of appreciation for both Deta and her granddaughter.


Woman at the Well

Every morning 
She stands to power,
waits for water,

for God to say
if she can drink
or has to move on. 

She objects to God
and his decision
but prepares anyway,

taking only things
that give her strength
to carry her child,

who only carries
a small piece of ply
that holda prayer

they both recite,
memorize, to smuggle
into the new world.