Denise Levertov / The Earthwoman and the Waterwoman

Le trani episode, 1972
Bronce
Louise Bourgeois
Palacio de Bellas Artes, México DF, 2013
Photo by Triunfo Arciniegas

The Earthwoman and the Waterwoman

by Denise Levertov

BIOGRAPHY

 The earthwoman by her oven
       tends her cakes of good grain.
The waterwoman’s children 
are spindle thin.
    The earthwoman
    has oaktree arms. Her children
full of blood and milk
       stamp through the woods shouting.
   The waterwoman
       sings gay songs in a sad voice
               with her moonshine children.
When the earthwoman
has had her fill of the good day
      she curls to sleep in her warm hut
      a dark fruitcake sleep
but the waterwoman
    goes dancing in the misty lit-up town
      in dragonfly dresses and blue shoes.