Little girl,
hold on to your raggedy doll.
Run inside to your mother who is
cooking a pot of stew.
Let Daddy
fix the squeaky swing set
because Mommy must finish washing the dishes.
Tell your big brother to gather up his
toy trucks before he catches
the wrath of the winter’s cold.
Don’t tell Mommy to fix the broken vacuum because
she knows only to use it.
Don’t expect Daddy to wipe the
kitchen floor because he’s watching the game.
Make sure Mommy separates the
whites from the reds
so Big Brother won’t have
pink clothes for school tomorrow.
Young girl,
mop the floor,
fix the beat-up pick-up truck in the garage,
wear Big Brother’s Tigers cap.
Stray away.
Do Anything and
Everything
your parents
thought not do to.