A Keeper at Home

I read this poem a while back in a Keepers at Home magazine. I liked it so much that I put a copy of it on my refrigerator where I could reread it often.


A Keeper at Home
- a reader, Keepers at Home Magazine, Fall 2010

A keeper at home, I have promised to be,
So many duties are waiting for me.
A mistress of dust rags, of mops, and of brooms,
A sweeper of spiders in corners of rooms.
A shaker of rugs, a duster of chairs,
A straightener of bookshelves, a scrubber of stairs.
I'm a plumper of pillows tousled by heads,
A smoother of covers, a maker of beds.
A shiner of windows all speckled with rain,
A washer of clothes that are dirty again.
A sewer of buttons, a mender of tears,
A patcher of holes that are needing repairs.
I'm a cooker of meats, of breads and of pies,
And other good things that bring joy to the eyes.
The planner of meals and the cleaner up, too,
For I must wash dishes when the cooking is through.
A tender of gardens, a planter of seeds,
A gatherer of bounties, a hoer of weeds.
My duties are many all the day through,
One task or another I hasten to do.
And when I am tempted to scold or to frown,
My mind goes to those who must work in town.
I would not trade places with any who roam,
I pray God to keep me a keeper at home.

With Love,