I forget to post this yesterday, but I read it to my poetry group, who enjoyed it, after advising on cuts, which I made. My mother was a Suffragette, marching in Chicago on this same day. Jessie taught me a lot, but obviously not how to pick a husband...
...“peace and stability "can only be achieved with the
participation of women as equal partners with men."
-- The Organization for Security and Cooperation
I laugh, because I had two husbands
Who had no idea how to clean or cook
Who could not change a diaper or feed a child
That was all Women’s work and mine,
Even though I worked all day at a Man’s job
With long hours, as I had to be better
Than the Men if I wanted to keep working.
Long hours, hard work and collapse on Sunday,
Only to have a MAN stand over me and say:
“Where’s lunch, I’m hungry.”
Bless the children, oh great god
(Whom so many in our country believe in)
Convince the poor Women who shrink back
And say “Yes, dear” and keep having children
To only replace themselves, one child each,
And teach their boys to do the dishes
And their employers that they are worth
An even dollar to match each Man’s wage,
Not the seventy-five cents we get now.
Yes, if there is a god, let him show his might,
Help the Women to achieve ‘peace and stability.’
And you might also raise their wages.
Thank you George for your comments. You are very correct.
I do hope that some of the marching both our generations did help, Jess, we can only hope, I suppose; a few men agree with us... including our new president.
Your poem made me think again that even though I'm what some might call a regenerate child of the 30s, pitching in with laundry and other things now that I'm retired, I still cannot match my younger wife's full time job, part time job and recently doing the fundamentals for her mother who suffers from Alzheimers. I'm not sure my daughters and granddaughter will have things any different. At least they don't seem to. Let's hope your prayer works.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, you might like the poetry of 2 Pulitzer Prize winners, both of whom I go to for piece of mind and models (very different models) of
poetry. Galway Kinnell and Leo Connellan (once a pretty good friend, who recently passed away).
Thank you, sir... I enjoyed your blog, and I enjoyed reading the two poets you told me about. I miss so many if I am not told about them. I will print the poems of theirs that I have found and take them to our poetry group, as our leader uses other poet's work to spark us and send us off in a new direction. Thanks again.....Peggy
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