Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

from “When the Body Calls”, Writers and Readers Publishing Inc., Harlem River Press, copyright 1998

My husband ran away
with the babysitter
and they both left
their dirty dishes in the sink.

The babysitter’s pregnant
her father disowned her
and my husband
ran a way with the maid.

The maid has been crying
since she had an abortion
and my husband
ran away with his secretary.

The secretary was raped
by the chairman of the board
and my husband
ran away with the schoolteacher.

The shoolteacher got fired
and works in a whorehouse
and my husband
ran away with a very young waitress.

The maid told the waitress
that my husband’s her father
and my husband
ran away to a monastery.

Now I fix rice and beans
and the babysitter, the maid, the secretary, the schoolteacher
and the very young waitress
all come to dinner.