Scrubbing off the residue of the day’s stressors,
Rinsing away the regrets along with the soap,
I practice remembrance,
Remembrance of the women who stood
Before basins rusted with use
And the residue of disappointed duty,
The unpaid labor of housework
And its attendant resentments
Filters down the centuries,
But so does the commitment
Tucked into every cleanly folded sheet,
The care stirred into the evening stew,
The promise scrubbed into each sparkling plate,
So does the investment into a future unseen,
A descendent unknown,
Dreams projected onto these shadowy figures,
Figures that are slowly revealed,
Even as they are not fully realized.
Elizabeth Roach-Smith’s published work includes poetry and nonfiction articles about food and bourbon. She earned a degree in English literature at Furman University and a graduate certificate in Publishing from Columbia University. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky with her family and Great Pyrenees dog, where she works in communications.