As collard greens simmer,

over the high fire,

nervous laughter ensues.  

Weary hands,  

picking, 

washing, 

and arms numb from

carrying

heavy burdens.

Still gentle,

even though 

this work

is never done. 

At each corner 

of the cherrywood,  

seeds 

are tightly 

embedded.

Passed down through 

generations, 

this is where 

the women gather.

Filling rivers over

empty wombs

and men deciding  

they want to be elsewhere.

Over the potatoes

being peeled, 

the shed of grief

is scattered like ashes.

Women know

what it’s like

to flee

and hide

and fight

and scream.

This beautiful work, 

tending

to the family soil,

planting

watering,

and pruning 

everyone’s hopes, 

sacrificing their own.

—

Writer Bio:

Archuleta Chisholm is an author, poet, blogger, and host of the FearlessINK podcast. Her work has been featured in the Sun-Times, Military Brat Life, The National Library of Poetry, and various online publications, including Nia Magazine, Permission to Write, and Resolute Magazine. She’s been teaching and writing for over a decade and finds tremendous joy in being able to share her knowledge and experience with others.

Photo by RF_Studio on Pexels.

Read more work like this when you purchase Issue 2: Beauty in Brokenness of Resolute Magazine.