Pantoum for Divorce
You should have checked with me.
It’s your turn to do the dishes.
You do it like it’s a big chore.
Tell me if you’re going.
It’s your turn to do the dishes.
You paid how much for that?
Tell me if you’re going.
It’s too early to go to bed.
You paid? How much for that?
Don’t leave me a mess to clean up.
It’s too early to. Go to bed
if you want to. I’m not tired.
Don’t leave me a mess. To clean up
just wash it or get a cloth.
If you want to… I’m not tired.
I love it when you howl.
Just wash it. Or get a cloth.
The kids might hear us.
I love it when you howl.
That doesn’t turn me on.
The kids might hear us.
You do it like it’s a big chore.
That doesn’t turn me on.
You should have checked with me.
joan mazza
has worked as a medical microbiologist, psychotherapist, seminar leader, and has been a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee. She is the author of six self-help psychology books, including Dreaming Your Real Self (Penguin/Putnam), and her poetry has appeared in Potomac Review, Rattle, The MacGuffin, Mezzo Cammin, and The Nation. She ran away from the hurricanes of South Florida to be surprised by the earthquakes and tornadoes of rural central Virginia, where she writes poetry and does fabric and paper art.