The Women at the Well- ann masai

We are the women at the well;

We who draw up the sacred water
under a red sun
as a child pulls at our skirts.

We gather, share stories, 
spill our laments onto the ground
where they seep to the underworld.

Weathered hands raise and 
lower the bucket endlessly
refreshing dry vessels,
and, at times, hope.

We are courageous
who dare to work the bucket
into the earth's dark places.

We labor to raise earth's vein of tears,
Where we have hidden our sorrows.

And by doing so,

Both honor and purify the darkness;

This I know: we do the holy work.