Calgary Poetry Magazine –

"everyone endure" by Isa Carlin

Home | Submissions | Published | About

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Visit waxpoetryart.com to explore poetry (including haiku and spoken word), visual art, photography, play, and fiction submission opportunities. Experience the thrills of the Weekly Poems Contest.

September 15th, 2026

Calgary Poetry Contest #2 – First Place

everyone endure

by Isa Carlin

Come then, everyone endure,
spend no more time in womanish lament
—Elegies, Archilochus, tr. M.L. West

I came to the land and it could not feed me anymore,
	for all food had gone to the landlord;
O Maria! Your husband thanks you for your strong shoulders,
	copra heavier than empty-stomach corpses.

I came to the water and it had no fish,
	for all waves buoyed Western missiles;
O Maria! Your husband blesses your writings,
	newspaper louder than all navies.

I came to the factory and cut open my feet on gravel and rocks,
	for only the capitalist had shoes;
O Maria! Your husband knows your hands,
	bandages carrying more than all bridges.

I came to the picket line and there met police batons,
	for only the rich have the right to speak;
O Maria! Your husband is your comrade,
	Marxism a stronger covenant than matrimony.

I came to the prison and slept standing up,	
	for 1 cell held 10 beds for 50 men;
O Maria! Your husband loves your daily bread,
	almusal more precious than the alhambra.

I came to the roadside like vulture-meat,
	for no record tethered me to life;
O Maria! Your husband remembers your grief,
	his disappearance colder than known death.

I came to the land and it fed me,
	for the people had seized all territory;
O Maria! Your child thanks you for your study,
	revolution more beloved than all the rich man’s charity.

About the Poet
Isa Carlin resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Read the poet's biography and Wax Poetry and Art publications
on Isa Carlin's Artist Page.

This poem is included in Poetry World #16,
published in the Wax Poetry and Art Library.

Keywords: women, activism, Philippines

Previously published in Calgary Poetry Magazine:
Usurped
by Stephen G. Lloyd

Home | Submissions | Published | About

Calgary Poetry Magazine is part of the Wax Poetry and Art Network.
- Visit the main Wax Poetry and Art Submissions Page to see all opportunities.
- Visit the Wax Poetry and Art Library.
- This website and all contents ©Florencia Bay Books and specified artists.
- AI Training is not permitted on this website.

(Advertisements)