Free

by Cheryl Merrick

The days of struggling to keep my house clean and orderly
are gone,
along with our four children.

The days of vacuuming, shampooing, and polishing
are gone,
along with the carpets, chrome, and a lot of the furniture.

The days of mounting pictures and making scrapbooks
are gone,
our memories instantly stored on the computer.

Holiday baking, shopping, and wrapping
have given way to nuts, gift cards, and sacks.


Dirt is left along with shoes at the door.
Our few possessions sit smugly on their assigned shelves.

Our slaves, the dishwasher, washer, and dryer,
do much of the work for us.

My husband sees that our floors are kept dust free, and
Storm windows keep our home warm and windows dry.

Filters trap dust, catalogs are thrown away,
and food is not canned, but quickly frozen.

Things are spot cleaned as needed.
Dirty clothes are sorted as used.

Knit clothes don’t wrinkle,
and things in cupboards stay clean.

Free, at last, from the constant pressure
of trying to care for so many things,
I can now spend my time doing what I enjoy:
teaching, studying, and writing.