1-2-3

Photo by Judith Taburet

by Judith Taburet

1-2-3
I polish my calloused palms with grease and soap.
The keys still echo Bach in my fingertips.
The faint moonlight whispers back to the kitchen.

My mother’s eyes measure my worth in foreign currency.
Veiled in soot, frying oil, and imported perfume,
I stand.
My sister’s laughter—diamond-cut,
the rich one, my shadow in childhood,
the clever one who catches a stranger like a boar in a net.
I listen.

Seventeen—I carry a rolled diploma,
the muscle memory of waltzes.
On the piano,
I play.
1-2-3

None of it pays the rent. None of it paints the crumbling walls.
I teach little girls to dance on cracked tiles,
telling them to hold their heads high,
even as my own dips under the weight of uncertainty.

The music swells at dusk.
1-2-3—

And I imagine another country, one not for sale,
where a girl can breathe
without selling her name to the highest bidder;
where my hands, trained on piano keys, not on a stranger’s chest

where a mother’s pride is not swollen
by the men her daughters attract,
but by the songs, the heart’s sigh—
1-2-3

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Judith Taburet is a writer and photographer hailing from Madagascar, now based in France. Drawing from a rich legacy of advocacy, she infuses her art with a sense of purpose. Inspired by her father, an influential writer who courgeously fought against prejudice and racism in their homeland . Judy T channels her creative voice to shed light on women's stories and Malagasy culture. Her work, both in prose and photography, delves into strong experiences, ensuring they are told with unflinching honesty and strength.