Shall I begin with dusting the knick-knacks?
I think yes.
Because I earned 25 cents a week
And became such an avid reader
That it led me to later, more lucrative pursuits
An explanation: the task, so dreaded, so heinous,
So every-freakin’-Saturday-morning –without-fail
It resulted, also without fail, in an internal peristalsis
Whose urgency was not to be ignored
And yet, once ensconced on the pink potty seat
Heavy tome in lap – sometimes fairy tales, or adventures
Mostly something to do with dogs or horses
Staying so long my legs fell asleep
Lost in the confluence of words on page
Staying way after the necessity had been completed
But …
Once a year we did the hardwood floors
With a product called Renuzit
I took my time on the stairs, soaking in the noxious fumes
The fragrance so heavenly (and may explain, I’m thinking now,
Some future health problems, also assisted by obsessively trailing after the mosquito truck on summer evenings on my bike)
I earned a little more working for my father
When he’d buy a house at auction
A house that had been unloved, steak grease on walls
And filthy carpets
But I earned a dollar, and rough hands, and getting to hang out with Daddy
© 2011 Marilyn Stevens
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