Caught in the act of reaching
to turn over her tortillas
heating on the little woodfired stove
this nearly faceless woman
mexican or guatemalan
stands in her kitchen
with a simple strength and grace
not young not beautiful
but easy to imagine her
having once been
both those things

Her head is covered with
a dark green kerchief
matching the color of her dress
behind her back her apron
is tied with a pale blue bow
her face an olive brown
eyes intent and lips
pursed in concentration
while the coals in the brazier
burn with a red and orange glow
suggest a hearth that centers
the whole scene

Shadows in the background
play in a darkened dining room
where the outlines of a table
and chair are faintly visible
the blurriness offsets
the clear and vivid foreground
and gives the painting both
contrast and depth

The whole conveys respect
for what Burns called honest poverty
and for the skill of those who make
food from the local earth
here in our home she holds
a place up on the landing wall
reminding us of something precious
yet not easy to pin down
something about the land
and those who dwell as part of it
something about integrity and
the artist's seeing eye