Choose one item from Column A and one from Column B. Write a poem about a housewife doing something from Column A and her young son/daughter coming home from school, having just learned about something in Column B that startles, offends, terrifies or mystifies him/her. See how your choice from Column A and Column B can relate.

Column A

laundry, dishes, cleaning
drinking win
yoga, zumba, exercise,
making an omelet
cutting vegetables
dusting, making the bed
watching Law and Order

Column B

people eventually die
carnivores eat other animals
Abe Lincoln was shot
the dinosaurs all died
where babies come from
long division
how far away China/the moon is

You can also substitute your own ideas in each column if you’d like. Write a minimum 18-line poem, and try to alternate subject matter every 2-3 lines(IE 2 on housewife, 3 on son/daughter coming home, 2 on housewife, 2 on son/daughter telling her about x).

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Spandex hugs the curve of her thighs, the fullness of her ass,
like his hands had just the night before.
Squatting low and sure on a steady exhale,
her muscles pull and twist
from firm grips and firmer thrusts
but the burn is good.
It’s always good.
Her concentration is never broken, her peace never lost,
even when the door slams,
louder than the headboard ever has.
“Mom,” cries a voice from the foyer,
“I know where babies come from!”
She stares at her daughter with wonder
and a small secret smile.
She’s thankful that she’s learned through a lecture,
through a diagram and a few pictures
instead of through practical application and
hands-on experience,
as she once had
on the night her baby girl was conceived.
She straightens her back as she straightens her smile,
no longer wistful, no longer nostalgic
but encouraging, “What did you learn, sweetheart?”
“How a sperm meets an egg,”
How a boy meets a girl—
He shows her all the ways he can love her,
with his hands, his lips, his tongue.
Makes her scream his name.
“And how the cells divide,”
How he loves her enough to make an honest woman out of her—
He shows her family he’s serious,
with a ring, a white dress and a proper wedding.
Makes her say ‘I do.’
“And how the baby grows,”
How he continues to love her, as wife and mother—
He shows his devotion, with a well-paying job, sweet gestures, and passionate nights.
“Until it’s born!”
How he loves their baby girl, how she’s his whole world—
He shows his adoration, with tea parties, park play-dates, and bedtime stories.
Makes her giggle, and squeal with laughter.
She knows she’s lucky it was him,
and not some John.
She knows her daughter may not be so lucky,
that it may just be some John.
So she’s thankful, for lesson and practical application,
for the diagrams and hands-on experience,
for the tears that burn her eyes.
Because the burn is good.
It’s always good.