Jesus said to Martha, and I paraphrase, “Mary has chosen the better way, hanging out with me while you cook and clean and fuss.” Do I ever like that guy!
There are crumbs on my floor to make a meal
Dust obscures the TV screen
My windows have been licked and gobbed on
My walls are glazed with grubby fingerprints
Little strings and bits of lint languish on the rug
The floor is spattered, scuffed and split
My bathtub proudly displays its ring
I am the only lonely one in the cycle of chores
I bow down to the pail god
I slop with water
I scrub and scour and wipe away
I bend and contort and labor
I say this sucks as I push the stick that sucks up the dust
I get tired and everything gleams
And then I have to do it all again
I think gleaming is over-rated
And in my case, it’s just a guilty daydream
Nothing gleams
I sit in the naturalness, the mess
And smile and read a book
Author’s note: I wrote this poem while running a day home when my children were small. My dislike of cleaning has only grown. I’ve tossed the guilt. I get a lot of reading done. 🙂
Posts come out every Monday morning, a poem every third Monday. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to receive notifications of my posts via email. Follow me on Instagram username: pollyeloquent. Thanks for reading. 🙂
