Feminist X (part 2)

(circa 2014)
 
She could work from home
three days a week so
she ended living in at my
my abode 5 days a week,
using my computer and phone,
eating my food, 
and doing laundry as well.
Her doggie was a
Boston Terrier name Ellie
after Eleanor Roosevelt.
 
I had the summer
off as a teacher
and one day I needed
some alone time and
told her I needed
a meeting of the
12 step kind.
 
She said,
“What will I do
the next three hours?”
 
????????????????
Incredulous,
I make suggestions.
 
“You can
knap,
watch a movie,
take the dog for a walk,
read a book,
sun bathe on the deck,
go for a hike,
have a campfire,
mow the lawn,
vacuum the house,
wash the windows,
change the oil in your car,
write a letter to a friend
            or your Congressman,
write a poem,
make some phone calls,
go for a run,
work on a peace plan for the world,
do the laundry,
paint the shed or
go on an internet
Search engine and type in
‘things to do’.”
 
For a my
feminist girlfriend,
I am shocked by the
codependent behavior
I am witnessing.
Where is the
“I am woman
Hear me roar
inner spirit?
 
As I drive to the meeting,
I listen to Rodriquez’s song
Hate Street Dialogue lyrics
on my 2007 Ford Focus
standard CD player singing,
“Woman just be gone,
you’ve stayed here
way
too
long.”