The Husband’s Lament
A cynical Spencerian Sonnet

I once a lissome woman wed, and she –
In furtherance of some strategic scheme –
To the bleak, barren suburbs banished me,
To mow the lawn and trim the shrubs. It seems
I was a mere small cog in her regime,
While I imagined I had work to do
More pressing than to validate her dreams.
But she was such an overweening shrew,
Who so had seized the household revenue,
That manhood quailed to thwart her any wish.
And so I paid the mortgage, raised her crew,
And did the household chores. With every dish
I wiped, I pondered how it could be true
That all my life was now immersed in kitsch.

Now I am old, and rich, and I can see
The virtue of her lifelong strategy.

September 2024