Sindhi Woman

Sindhi Woman

Barefoot through the bazaar,
and with the same undulant grace
as the cloth blown back from her face,
she glides with a stone jar
high on her head
and not a ripple in her tread.

Watching her cross erect
stones, garbage, excrement, and crumbs
of glass in the Karachi slums,
I, with my stoop, reflect
they stand most straight
who learn to walk beneath a weight.

                                             - by Jon Stallworthy

Bazaar: A market in a Middle-Eastern country.
Undulant: Resembling waves in occurrence, appearance, or motion.
Excrement:Waste matter discharges from the bowels; feces.
Karachi: A major city and port in Pakistan. Capital of Sind Provenience.

Once again, a fairly simple poem with a nice message behind it. What I find interesting is that in the end he tells you exactly what the meaning of this image is. The lady gliding through the bazaar means something to the end and instead of leaving words to help the reader figure it out, he tells the reader at the end.

The resemblance he makes with her cloth and waves is lovely. I imagine the end of the cloth turning into water. Could just be me though!

The simplicity of this poem is not a bad thing at all. It is a nice, easy to read poem with a simple message that still can leave the reader thinking. The imagery is also spot on. (I'm British now)

I imagine a scruffy man sitting on his stoop. Watching the world pass before him, his attention is captured by one woman who happens to be moving like fluid through an extremely bust side street in the worst of areas. Her clothes standing out against the dull colors of garbage, excrement, and crumbs of glass. The though hits him, she has probably dealt with more problems than any of the slums loitering those streets but yet she walks the most erect. That is what it takes to make it through darker times, confidence.