Poetry: Mongolian Woman in a Box By Jonathan Hayes

Mongolian Woman in a Box

 

In 1913, a Mongolian woman

was condemned to death for adultery

 

She was confined in a wooden crate

and left in a remote location to die    

in agony from starvation and exposure 

 

To prolong her torture and suffering 

a small hole was carved for her head 

to stick partially out allowing her

to beg for food or for water from 

a bowl on the ground next to the crate 

 

The bowl of water was not refilled

 

The photographer, Stéphane Passet, was on

an “Archives of the Planet” expedition

bankrolled by a philanthropist and came upon

the Mongolian woman in a box

 

He did not free her taking photos instead

presumably in empathy and as historical documentation

 

What was her name, her favorite color, did she have children, 

how old was she, did she have a soul, and did her soul escape 

when her body died, was the wooden crate burned with her body 

still inside, or was her body taken out?

 

History leaves the photograph

 

The Mongolian woman still trapped to death inside

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Hayes lives in Oakland, California.