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A Woman's Work

A Poem by MICHELE GIBSON

 

 

Celebrating The International Women's Day  ...

 

A WOMAN'S WORK

 

She stands above the iron

The smell of warm cotton rising

Mixed with starch and steam

Six yards of cloth stretch out beside her

Suspended along three kitchen chairs

The great length dissects the room

Corner to corner

*

Pressing one foot at a time

She folds them neatly to her side

Pace by pace

Drawing in the shrinking length,

Measure by measure

The bolt of fabric

Rendered to a crisp and sturdy stack

One square foot wide

*

She calls to her beloved 

He charges up the stairs

This is their routine

He is a handsome man with flowing hair

Dark eyes smiling

She has loved him for eternity

*

From the far end of the room

They open wide the freshly minted cloth

Fold and fold until they meet

Then he kisses her,

She leaves and reappears

Her turban tied

Ever so precisely

Waiting,

While he irons his six yards of cotton

 

March 8, 2010

Conversation about this article

1: Chintan Singh (San Jose, California, U.S.A.), March 08, 2010, 11:58 AM.

When I started reading the poem with my stereotype lenses, I thought this was about the wife folding her man's turbans ... something that is typical in my household. However, I am so glad that the poem turned out instead about the woman's turban and her beloved helping with it. Thank you for taking us outside the box ...

2: Irvinder Singh Babra (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), March 08, 2010, 4:23 PM.

Poet Michele Gibson, what a fine, loving and romantic poem!

3: Gurmeet Kaur (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.), March 08, 2010, 9:34 PM.

Aaaww!!! This is a treat for Women's Day! Thank you, Michele. I love the turban colors. Sikhchic.com, what a great job you do with the pictures to go along with the articles.

4: Maria Kaur (Ottawa, Canada), March 10, 2010, 4:24 PM.

With a title such as "A Woman's Work", one would have expected to react and perceive as Chintan did. So the twist was indeed a nice surprise ... and a sheer delight to read. Beautiful!

5: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), March 10, 2010, 6:11 PM.

The following nugget has just appeared on the net that I share with you: Quote of the day - "Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit."

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