We will pray for grandfather,
she said
in the hope that he will develop a sense of humour.
And we will pray that he becomes less tired.
He has been tired, you know,
for all of his life.
she smiled as she said it
and reclaimed a stitch that had fallen
rocking to the cadence of her own speech
and the clacking rhythm of the needles
It is difficult to be the man of the household...
she was speaking almost to herself
as though in a reverie with the rest of us forgotten
... so much burden and responsibility,
for the earning of the money, the making of decisions
and having to stay aloof to bear failures and mishaps.
To stifle the questions that are unbecoming
when directed to the man.
We will pray grandfather recovers from his tiredness,
she said
and pray that he does not need to be so aloof
to avoid having to explain the shortfall
in the household accounts that worsened last Saturday,
and quite a few Saturdays before.
Why, even I
may recover a sense of humour ...
and with that her smile broadened
and there was a notable gleam in her eyes
as though she\'d said a wickedly delicious thing
as she rocked and knitted
~