pandora’s box
Sue Woodward
the box is barely noticeable
in the detritus of a stalled canal
a picker, seeking brass
pries at the hinges
they give way under
an inner pressure
the lid shifts to reveal
a slit of dark through which
a mass of scuttling
creatures clamber
frontrunners jostling
elbowing shoving flying
into the grey predawn
their wings uncreasing
stingers unsheathed
they cover the globe at speed
piercing the masks of pickers
politicians dancers philosophers
men at the side of the road
women who set off daily
children alone at home
SUE WOODWARD has been a writer and lover of language since studying English and Psychology at Wits University. After many years of teaching and editing, she now has the time to concentrate on her poetry. This year her love of writing and concern about ongoing gender-based violence and sexual exploitation has culminated in the publication of between the apple and the bite by Modjaji. The collection explores the predicament of women through the millennia, from Greek mythology and the Bible through history and into contemporary times. Sue lives in Muizenberg with her husband Rob and Ruby her dog.