We Row
“Work is love made visible.” – Khalil Gibran
It’s an hour ‘til Labor Day. The towels are in, all soggy spun cotton – laden and soiled with their labor of absorbing. The trash is out, all spoiled Clorox wipes and spent Magic Erasers, coiled cut cable wire and vacant cardboard boxes. I sip Nighttime Tea, which is really just bullshit in a bag. My shoulders sag.
I am a mess.
I am not complaining.
I have spent my day de-caking surfaces greased with gray; sloughing away dirt and decay; scrubbing the walls for a fresh coat of paint; replacing tiny screws; re-facing light switch plates; taking the reins of this home’s creaks and aches; shrugging off the remains of these quondam householders. There will be cleaning with sage, later.
I am tired.
I am not complaining.
I am a woman.
So is she: a woman homeless, facing another night outside, alone. Deprived of water, socks, soap. Lacking access to maxi pads, she bleeds liberally on train station toilet paper: a red dam. A hot shame. She works to hide her feminine side.
I am a mother.
So is she: a mother single and working double shifts, triply tired as she juggles her two jobs and two kids, coffee a constant, sleep a dream. She works solo to shelter, clothe and feed.
I am a daughter.
So is she: a daughter caring for a frail aging parent, saving money by putting it where her mouth is, ensuring care by not involving insurance. She works to return decades of nurture.
I am a wife.
So is she: a wife dying of cancer with no time to fight it. She faces death bravely in defiance of mortality. She works to share with every breath she draws, knowing there’s always, always time to love.
I am a sister.
So is she: a sister striving to hide bruises by a brother or uncle or father or friend, burying her pain with every stroke of concealer. She works to escape from what should be her safe space.
I am a woman.
I am not complaining.
We are women.
My work, and hers, and hers, and theirs, and ours:
it is not borne by complaints, for women dare
to labor in love.
We lose ourselves in choosing to love: we work ourselves to the bone for our chosen ones,
and if ever we find there is no wind…
…we row.
Abigail Hawk
Abigail Hawk is a New York-based actor, singer, writer, humanitarian, and mom. She began performing theatrically at the age of six and landed her first television role at twelve. Hawk earned a Creative and Performing Arts Scholarship to the University of Maryland, from which she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in theatre performance. Abigail moved to New York City in 2004 and began cultivating an eclectic resume peppered with dynamic female characters.
Abigail has guest-starred on television shows Law and Order: SVU, Body of Proof, The Jim Gaffigan Show, and Are We There Yet? She is most recognizable as Detective Abigail Baker, the unflappable right hand of NYPD Police Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) on CBS’ Blue Bloods. Her work as LGBT icon Dr. Louise Pearce in the television pilot Distemper earned her rave reviews at the 2019 North Fork TV Festival.
Hawk’s film work includes her award-winning performance in film festival favorite Almost Paris and her starring role opposite Chevy Chase in ION Network’s feature A Christmas in Vermont. Abigail recently returned to the stage in Emmy winner Dorothy Lyman’s haunting new play, In the Bleak Midwinter, off-Broadway in NYC. She was the recipient of the Long Island International Film Expo’s 2019 Creative Achievement Award. Catch her next in Brother’s Keeper with Laurence Fishburne and as femme fatale Bonnie in The Wrong Path.
Hawk has sung and played piano at NYC mainstays The Bitter End, and The Duplex. She co-authored The Unofficial Guide to Surviving Pregnancy Without Losing Your Mind, and her poetry is currently featured in online women’s magazine Good Little Girls. She is a Tupelo Press 30/30 Project participant, for which she penned a poem a day. Abigail enjoys working with Habitat for Humanity, Covenant House, ADAPT Community Network, and HeartShare Human Services of New York, who honored her with The Linda Dano Heart Award.
Hawk is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and Actor’s Equity Association. She resides on Long Island with her busy, beautiful family: husband, two sons, two dogs, two cats, four fish, and one snail.
Sydney Varajon
Sydney Varajon holds an MA in Folk Studies from Western Kentucky University, and is currently a PhD student in Folklore and English at the Ohio State University. She has worked on various oral history and cultural resource documentation projects in southern Appalachian regions of Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as in newcomer communities in Columbus, Ohio. Her current research explores the intersections of material culture, place studies, narrative, and cultural policy.
