"I'm a housewife: I spend far more time on housework than anything else."
Annie Dillard

Laundry to my armpits,
Pintos cooked with lard,
Beer cools in the Frigidaire,
While junkers fill the yard.

The kids are needing school shoes,
The house could use a roof,
I've got to have some birth control,
But the bass boat payments due.

If anyone should ask me
I'd sweetly smile and swear
I'm ever so proud to be known
As “that ignorant redneck's mare.”

But beneath my frumpy posture
I've a secret you don't know,
I take it out and dust it off
When I watch my daily soaps.

I'd love to wear silk panties
And someday write a book,
I'd like to visit Venice,
(And teach your momma how to cook).

I want to earn my G.E.D.
And then go on to college,
I want to know that should you die
I've something more than courage.

But for now I live for you
And give you kingly comfort,
My every dream kept packed away
To keep you safe far from it.

c. 2021

Image by J Garget from Pixabay