do as I say

So, papa was being naughty one Saturday afternoon at lunch time. C- caught licking peanut butter off the knife again. "Mama," she yelled "papa's putting his knife in his mouth again. He's not supposed to do that." I came in from the kitchen and scolded my husband. "How are we supposed to teach C- safety when you break the rules almost daily? We're not having any do as I say, not as I do mentality in this house."

Then C- told him he had to go stand in the hallway as punishment. "No," I said "this offense calls for harsher measures." "Papa, go upstairs, take off your clothes, get in bed, and wait for me." Smiling eyes met over the peanut butter and jelly sandwich; I winked at him and went back into the kitchen.

A few minutes later I heard C- following up: "But papa, mama said you have to take your clothes off and wait for her upstairs. Go ahead - do what mama said!"

"iconic lives"

Do you know Gwyneth Paltrow?

So sweet and pure, an innocent for sure.
Straight blond hair and light eyes, too;
white skin so tight too good to be true.
To be like her, a little girl dreams;
to live like her in a magazine...
Listen to her squeak. Watch as she tweaks
her role as goddess or royalty modest:

a truth we perceive through an actress we believe but ourselves we deceive

Do you know Frida Kahlo?

The tragic frau with a unibrow,
a Mayan mustache she had
a dual life, an affair with strife
and a husband who longed to possess her.
With blood and guts she stained the cloth;
her broken body, pain, and loss
told tales her mind had mangled and jailed:

the artist we neglect her darkness we reject ourselves she reflects.

Did you know Jackie O?

Her public smile and graceful looks
were put on sale and sold in books.
But if we look inside her wide-set eyes,
we’d see a soul dead tired of roles
and parts she was directed to play.
Too few knew she was just me and you:

a wife dismayed and a woman displayed

Our saints have sinned I’m afraid.