Men-Oh-Pause

 

Men-Oh-Pause, give your wives a break,

Don’t get up and leave them to wash up the plates.

They’re on their feet before every meal,

Cooking and washing and keeping the home clean.

They won’t cook once daily ‘cos you want your meals fresh,

And I think you know that they really need some rest.

Women-Oh-Pause, just stop and think.

Are busy lifestyles driving you to the brink?

Long working hours, then a fancy vacation,

When you all need to work less, and can have a nice lazy stay-cation.

Men, do some housework. It will keep you fit,

And your blood sugar levels might even come down a bit.

Women slow down before you get older,

Set routines that help family have time together.

People make time, slow down the pace,

So you have memories that will put a smile on your face.

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Because the busy of today, along with rigid gender roles, often lets women down at times in their lives when they most need support. Yes, one of these times is menopause.

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The lines up to really need some rest, are a reference to rigid gender roles, fixed ideas on cooking, and patriarchy. These thoughts also apply to anyone who doesn’t help with chores, or is rigid about fresh food to the extent that the home manager gets no rest.

The rest of the poem is not gender specific and applies to all. I wanted both men and women to be a part of it and I wanted to mention women because I’ve specifically mentioned men. So I’ve added them alternating gender and then followed with ‘people’.