Poem: To the women of Bolivia

Her name is Lucha, short for Luisa. It means "struggle".

She wears a purple polera, down to her knees,

And carries her shop in the rainbow aguayo on her back

Her husband died 2 years ago,

She has 3 children

She is 26.

Lucha's mass the rusted roads, the birthing soils.

They breastfeed, eat and work, with toes eroded

Old mountains

And they walk with these old mountains

History in their throats

Husbands inside them, children on their shoulders

And all these weights that link as chains

They carry quietly.

They are strong.

They are strong enough to change this country

And so, the women of Bolivia are the engine of its history

The wind, sun and roots of its dusty hills

The regular rhythm of its sacrifice and struggle

They are the vibrating streets, the humid farms, the humble home.

As they work, Bolivia breathes

From GLW issue 726