Washing Women (Ekphrastic)

He sees the women washing

Langlois Bridge at Arles by Vincent Van Gogh

on the riverbank
shoes off
bare feet in the clay
they work
raw worn hands
scrubbing away yesterday's grime,
preparing for tomorrow's.
The curls about their faces
cling to glistening foreheads
in the sun --
one whose hair is red
like the earth
sings a hymn
she is made from this clay,
the breath of life
resonates in her song,
the chorus
hummed by all
is applauded by the reeds
who dance and sway in the wind
The river chuckles and cheers
happy to be of service.