May 4, 2010
Poem for May
photo via LIFE
Mother, Washing Dishes
She rarely made us do it—
we’d clear the table instead—so my sister and I teased
that some day we’d train our children right
and not end up like her, after every meal stuck
with red knuckles, a bleached rag to wipe and wring.
The one chore she spared us: gummy plates
in water greasy and swirling with sloughed peas,
globs of egg and gravy.Or did she guard her place
at the window? Not wanting to give up the gloss
of the magnolia, the school traffic humming.
Sunset, finches at the feeder. First sightings
of the mail truck at the curb, just after noon,
delivering a note, a card, the least bit of news.
Diane @ InMyOwnStyle: This poem takes me back – omgosh I can vividly picture my own mother standing just like that in a kitchen not too different from the one in the photo. My mom never made us do to many chores, but I think she did them herself because she knew we would not do them to her perfection.1 year ago
Ruth: This is glorious.1 year ago
Karen: Wonderful poem. My mom, to this day, doesn’t ‘make’ people do anything in the kitchen or around the house. My dad will never get it, and always tries to help out, but I think mom enjoys the quiet solitude that comes from scrubbing her pots and pans just the right way and only stopping after it’s done to her satisfaction.
1 year ago
Karen: There was a wonderful sense of simplicity in those days. The room in the picture is beautiful and serene.1 year ago
Kelly: I love this. I can’t help but think, though, that the last line makes a slightly dark turn, just slightly.1 year ago
Katie @ cakes, tea and dreams: Love this. There is something incredibly satisfying about washing dishes. And that’s a great photo.1 year ago
Kelly, I totally agree on the dark turn. There’s a sense of something a little bleak in that phrase “the least bit.” But those glossy magnolias…they just get me.1 year ago
Allison: Yes I agree the poem turns dark. Nice reasons to wash the dishes — hot water feels so good on hands that are developing a little arthritis, and you can provide a presence to children doing their homework at the kitchen table. Xox Mom1 year ago
Jane: What a lovely poem. I’m about to move out of a shared house and move into a flat of my own. I’m really looking forward to having my own space. One thing I know I will miss is the view from the kitchen window of the magnolia tree in next doors yard. It makes dishwashing a joy. I went out to photograph it in its glory just a couple of weeks ago.1 year ago