The Sacred Valley Of The Incas

Happily chattering women and girls
carry loaded laundry baskets up the
grassy bank of the Urubamba River,
and after reaching level land they
set the heavy burdens down, then
begin flapping and spreading their
saturated fabrics over the branches
of a cactus hedge, its thick pads
entirely covered by sturdy spikes
which pin the cloth securely in
place, creating a shapeless and
fantastic patchwork of abstract,
multicolored mounds that remain
unmoved by buffeting breezes.