I’d planned to be Heathcliff’s Cathy,Lady Brett, Nicole or Dominique or Scarlett O’Hara.I hadn’t planned to be folding up the laundryIn uncombed hair and last night’s smudged mascara,An expert on buying Fritos, cleaning the cat box,Finding lost sneakers, playing hide and seek.And other things unknown to Heathcliff’sCathy, Scarlett, Lady Brett, and Dominique.Why am I never…
But lately at three in the morning I’m tossing and turning,Awakened by hypochondria, and gas, and nameless dread,Whose name I’ve been learning. (worry)At three in the morning I brood about what my cholesterolcount might reveal,And the pains in my chest start progressing from gentle to racking,While certain intestinal problems make clear that the onionsI ate…
Whistling something obvious from La BohemeAnd carrying a brown calfskin attache caseI never dreamed he was capable of owning,Having started the dayWith ten pushups and a cold showerFollowed by hearty breakfast.(What do we actually have in common?)The honeymoon is overAnd I am dry-mopping the floorIn a green Dacron dry-mopping outfit from Saks,Wondering why I’m not…
It isn’t, Well that all depends on what you mean by ‘love’.Or even, Come to bed and I’ll prove that I do.The answer isn’t, How can I talk about love whenthe bacon is burned and the house is an absolute mess andthe children are screaming their heads off andI’m going to miss my bus?The answer…
My mom says I’m completely perfectJust the way I am.My mom says I’m a super-special wonderful terrific little guy.My mom just had another baby.Why?
Each day we had a holiday excursion,Which gave us the entire week to wait in line forMovies by Disney,Gift-wrapping by Lord & Taylor,And everyone’s restrooms.On Christmas Eve we started to assembleThe easy-to-assemble telescopeAnd fire truck with forty-seven pieces.By midnight it was plain there was no hope withoutAn astronomer,A mechanical engineer,And two psychiatrists.We rose at dawn…
And the kids shouldn’t move back home formore than a year,And not being audited, overdrawn, in Wilkes-Barre,in a lawsuit or in traction.HappinessIs falling asleep without Valium,And having two breasts to put in my brassiere,And not (yet) needing to get my blood pressure lowered,my eyelids raised or a second opinion.And on Saturday nightsWhen my husband and…
My mother said that she would scoldUnless I wrote to sayHow much I liked them.& nbsp; Not much.
And I’m learning to use Kleenex,Not my sweater, when I sneeze.And I’m learning not to dribble.And I’m learning not to slurp.And I’m learning (though it sometimes really hurts me)Not to burp.And I’m learning to chew softerWhen I eat corn on the cob.And I’m learning that it’s muchMuch easier to be a slob.
And never sit when you say sit,Or even when you yell.And when you come home late at nightAnd there is ice and snow,You have to go back out becauseThe dumb dog has to go.Mother doesn’t want a dog.Mother says they shed,And always let the strangers inAnd bark at friends instead,And do disgraceful things on rugs,And…
