Mother dear
whom everyone favors
has a tree that bears
fruits of labor.
She takes the fruits
before they even ripen
to the waterside market to sell
the way she takes children to the auction ground to be taken abroad
to unknown households in Monrovia.
She makes much profit and does not care.
The seeds of the fruit aren’t hers, but those of other women.
She goes back to the farm and encourages other trees to bear
so that she can harvest and nurture them as her own.

*****

[Courtesy of the author]

Link to the Italian translation