Housewife Definition
And finally, never lose hope in God’s mercy. (Rule of St. Benedict 4. 74-77)
Despair is a housewife with a television
peering through channels at the world passing her by.
She seeks hope, but what a difficult decision
to turn off the screen and go sing a lullaby.
So, what do you do all day, Ms. Smith? Do you play
with them, the tedious darlings—what sort of game?
How sad for you, when you could have had (and with pay)
lovers, success, fame and letters after your name.
Are those stretch marks on your breasts we see (not real ones!?)
that nursed babies. We can fix that for a small fee
reverse the decline in your value. A man runs
from paying bills, sagging flesh and mortality.
It’s true, she replies with a sigh. After dinner
diapers and dishes, it’s only games, day and night:
Play Fair, Tell The Truth, You Can’t Always Be Winner
Don’t Pull Your Sister’s Hair, Say You’re Sorry, Don’t Fight.
It wasn’t my intention with the marriage vow
to fail pitifully, give up ambition, beauty.
I made kids, not money. But thirty years from now
thanks to me, there may yet be a society.
