“What do you do the whole day?”
Is a refrain I often hear
As if I do nothing but just while away
Which is such a non sequitur.
“You are free the entire day!”
Exclaims my little one indignantly,
“And I have to study throughout the day!”
Is what I am told incessantly.
“Look up these papers will you?”
Calls up hubby from his work
And in case I am unable to do,
The job of a dutiful clerk
“You had the complete day to play finder!”
Is his quick, witty rejoinder.
This whole day that I am free
Starts at 6 am and ends at 12.30 am.
With two half hour breaks for me
To disrupt the continuous tedium.
When you are cook, tutor, washerwoman,
Nurse and occasionally maid
You wish for the powers of superwoman,
To tackle all the chores for which you are never paid!
From morn till night
Like millions of women worldwide
I toil at my job diligently
The house is clean, there’s food on the table
The children brought up intelligently
The finances are all stable.
Yet why am I stuck with mislabel
As if I am differently able!
So now to the query, “What do you do?”
I have a smart rejoinder,
With a jaunty toss of my head
I say, “Oh! I am a writer.”
Theirs eyes go wide and wisely they nod their head.
Now you all will somewhat agree
This is no mean feat by any degree.
It may be a motley group of followers
But why should I tell
Let them think I hobnob with scholars
And that I have a faithful clientele!
