Friday, August 5, 2016

The One Exception

Everybody wants to save the Earth; nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes.
~P.J. O'Rourke


I'm out of town today, but I'm sharing a humorous poem from "Poetry for Modern Mindfulness" by Jenny Allen.


photo by soikkoratamo

Doing the Dishes

by Jenny Allen

Breathing in, I wash the dishes,
Aware of their usefulness in holding
Nourishing meals that have sustained my family for many years.
I wonder why it is always, always me doing the dishes
By myself,
And whether, interconnected as all human beings are,
This may be the one exception.

read the rest here

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Allen's poem is a pseudo gatha. Here are real gathas.

A Teaching Life has the Poetry Friday round-up today. Thanks, Tara!

12 comments:

Brenda at FriendlyFairyTales said...

At least the dishes are a job with a beginning and an end. Unlike laundry. I love those humorous mindful moment. Perhaps the swiffering most of all. Your quote is perfect. So true of my children, especially if playing video games is considered saving the world.

Linda B said...

Hope your being out of town is full of laughter and mindful 'quips', just like these poems, Tabatha. They are wonderfully funny, yet wistful as well. Thanks!

Tara said...

These made me smile, Tabatha. But, I am rather sad about the extinction of Rockefeller Republicans, the only sort of Republican this Democrat can bear.

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes said...

O.M.G., Tabatha. I love today's quote and poem! It's going up on the refrigerator for sure. I confess, I sort of miss my relationship with mindfulness hanging laundry outside in Australia... not sure I miss it enough to forgo the clothes dryer, however. ;)

Jone said...

I love the photo and the accompanying poem. Thank you for sharing a poem of mindfulness.

Karen Edmisten said...

Love the quote, love the poem. :)
Thanks, Tabatha!

Mary Lee said...

I loved all of them -- they were all a little bit snarky or self-deprecating -- but I think you picked the best to share!

Doraine said...

Wishing you a sink full of miracles!

Whispers from the Ridge said...

Thanks for sharing the poem today! I hope you have a weekend free of dirty dishes!

Robyn Hood Black said...

Ha! And I was just wondering whether I could bear to leave someone else's dirty bowl out all night over here, just to avoid swooping in at the end as often happens... ;0) Thanks for sharing poetic fun with us even though you were away from the blog!

Irene Latham said...

These are fun... a reminder that everything is funny, if we let it be -- even mindfulness. Hope your weekend was filled with joy! xo

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Tabatha - hope the trip was a fun one ... while these sorts of poems always amuse and yes, why are women so often left alone to do the washing up ... and we want to clean the kitchen right away, not later on or tomorrow ...

Cheers and thanks for your visit to Positive Letters - Hilary