by Gerardine Baugh

Created on: February 07, 2009

Housework

Run the vacuum

Trail a wet mop

Wash the windows

Then the bathroom

I rattled off my daily housework

Scrub and clean, polish and dust

I brushed my hair from my eyes

And glanced at the clock

Nearly time to make dinner

Chicken and rice with broccoli

I moaned as I rose from the floor

Dragging the cleaning supplies

To the hall closet

Each had a place

A special spot, marked out

Each can, bottle and jar

I had traced

Its outline

And neatly printed its name

The mop and broom sat against the wall

Labeled so no one confused the two

Peeling off the rubber gloves

They too had a place of honor

As is their right

Cleaning products keep the dust

At bay

The house was shining bright

I made our dinner

Deciding, today to sit in front of the living room TV

There wasn't a chance a speck of dust would get in our food

I pulled out the television trays

One for me and one for him

I finished first; he was a bit beside himself

I had to use the dust pan

To clean his drips and odd parts

That fell off

Tomorrow, I decided it would be time

To take him into the garden

He can eat out there

Without messing my floor

He can fertilize the roses

With his flaking skin

And rotting fingers

It didn't take long to drag his easy chair outside

One of the neighbors came over to chat

Never mentioning him at all

Best that way, he never understood

What it took to a good housekeeper

I had a good view of him from the kitchen window

As the wind blew

Part of his face drifted over to the neighbor's yard

They were having a barbeque

I smiled and hummed, did a little dance

Around my clean, clean kitchen

Glad the wind wasn't blowing in my direction

I wouldn't want skin flakes coming into the window

Messing up my floors

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