All those who saw their hopes become the law

by Orna Fahy

I watch a woman
wrapped in a plain woolen shawl.
shiver and rub hardened hands
in an attempt to warm.
She deserves a thought.
This woman waits in the cold,
in line – The winter of 1918
for a chance to matter.
Considering her we consider
all the women
the poor, forgotten,
left behind.
Those whose voices of hope
and passion are now heard,
made into law.
Our woman looks up to see
a crow caw overhead.
It flies free, unbidden and
unchained.
Moving forward like
the woman in the line.

Written as part of Poetry as Commemoration workshops for Transition Years led by Terry McDonagh and Mary Melvin Geoghegan in Castlerea Community School, Roscommon, in  October 2023.