For men and women who work for love and not financial gain
By Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes
Unvarnished
It takes a man
to do what my parent’s generation
deferred as “woman’s work.”
No minimum wage
cause and effect rewards
just salivating dogs
and pooper scoopers
the prolific
propagation of dirty laundry
the monotonous
mopping up of sweat
Vacuums sucking crumbs
from last nights stir fry
skin scrapped off hands
by Brillo pads
sinks of muddied dishwater
Mondays folding into Tuesdays
Wednesdays hanging
onto Thursdays
Fridays made into beds
The mind numbing repetition
wiping fingerprints from mirrors dripping spray cleaners
facets running water down drains
Deafening afternoon silence
filling plastic ice trays of isolation
wringing dust from rags into buckets
until you can see
the unvarnished face of love
floating in water