Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE LABOURING WOMAN, by ANONYMOUS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE LABOURING WOMAN, by                    
First Line: You married men and women too
Last Line: What a woman has to do
Subject(s): Labor & Laborers;singing & Singers;women


You married men and women too,
Give ear unto my song,
I'll tell you of a circumstance
That will not keep you long;
I heard a man the other day,
And as savage as a Turk,
He was grumbling at his wife,
Saying she never did any work.

Says he, you lazy hussy,
Now I really must confess,
I am weary and tired of keeping you
In nasty idleness.
Indeed, the wife made answer,
I work as hard as you,
So I'll just run over a list of all
That a woman has to do.

At six o'clock each morning
When you to work do go
I've to rise and light the fire
And the bellows for to blow.
I have to set the tea things
And get the kettle boiled,
Besides you know I have to wash
And dress the youngest child.

When breakfast things are sided,
You know I make a rule,
To get the children ready
And send them off to school,
I have to shake and make the beds
And sweep the rooms also,
Then I have to clean the windows
And empt the chamber po.

Four times a day I have to cook,
Your wants for to supply,
Breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper,
I have to stew and fry.
I scarcely get a moment's rest,
I have to run here and there,
Then I have to scrub the table down
Likewise the stools and chairs.

I've to wash the sheets and blankets,
The pinafores and frocks,
Gowns, petticoats, and pillow slips,
Shirts, handkerchiefs, and smocks.
I've to nurse the little infant,
And rock the cradle too,
There's no man can imagine
What a woman has to do.





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