Jarrow Crusade: The Woman Left

You have seen her,
blotched face in a sepia-print photograph,
children clinging to a pinny,
hands rough as pumice stone.

Tears hold their own in the corner of her eyes,
wishing they could be used in the pawn shop.

Looking at the marchers, holding back speaking,
everyone lost in euphoria:
she wants to survive.

Tom Kelly