Poem of the Day

Family Poem Keeping Time © By Mary E. Sousis The groan was soft but nonetheless audible Followed by a long sigh and a thrusting of the chin Still, small hands picked up the hand_towel Reluctantly began wiping a dish I thought to myself..only once in a blue moon And I too sighed but kept on washing The young girl offered no other form of protest Although the dishes did seem to be dried rather slowly I shook my head taking care as to not show frustration Nor invoke chore-stopping displeasure But then, a memory called from the distant past, I smiled And offered a morsel of my own childhood When I too did not believe in child labor The young girl smiled faintly, silently inviting More tales from when life, she was sure, was not so hard I told her how I swept dirt under braided rugs, Covered my unmade bed with a patchwork quilt She offered her views on stoneware and paper dishes, Cleaning toothpaste out of the sink, passing notes at school I talked about dancing with the ugliest boy in twelfth grade, Why I didn't make the cheerleading squad, And how, once, a friend of mine got stuck in a garbage can She said she missed her best friend, who moved far away, Asked why airfare was so expensive, but thanked God for phones, And how she was voted Queen Judge for the daily lunch 'Pick and Flick' contest Could she dye her hair blue, just the ends? I told her of my iridescent orange bedroom No, she could not pierce her nose, Yes we could think of getting a lizard She wanted to know the difference between like and love And, Oh, by the way, what's for dinner? But did she have to dry? Again? This year? The pile of dishes seemed to dwindle quickly Though the hands' pace remained unchanged, Perhaps even slowed Two pair of hands, the same Keeping time Yet time tells them apart Time long past, time yet to come And mother and daughter, sharing time Create a memory To last a life-time