Girl Without Soap
by Miriam Ulinover
And as I sit so desolate
worn out by poverty,
the inspiration came to me
to create a song of need. –
Heavy is my shirt with worries,
one has to do the wash
the weave’s becoming yellowed
(close to _________________)
It bends my brain with worry
and presses like a canker.
If only the storekeeper
would give me soap on credit
No, he did not give it!
Stiff as starch he was!
For my beautiful dark eyes
he will not give away his soap
I am estranged from fresh white wash
my laundry’s gray with dirt,
But my body longs to sing the song
of a clean and fresh white shirt.