"Housewife" by Norman Rockwell‘Crimes Against My Sanity’ and Other Poems on Parenting by Anna J. Arredondo The Society December 29, 2022 Culture, Humor, Poetry, Villanelle 22 Comments . Crimes Against My Sanity At any-given-time o’clock While tidying my house, I find— Oh look—is that another sock? It really isn’t such a shock; My kids for chaos were designed At any-given-time o’clock. I can’t tell if they try to mock Me, or if they are truly blind (Oh look—is that another sock?)— They’ve littered every floor I walk, Each place I peek beneath, behind (At any-given-time o’clock), With misplaced toys, with bits of chalk, Gum wrappers, sticky spots, a rind— Oh look—is that another sock? It’s hard to breathe, to think, to talk, To settle down, relax, unwind, When any-given-time o’clock… Oh look—is that another sock?!! . . Time Machine Time never stands still, but the shower Sure muffles out sound rather well— __Are those my kids screaming? __Or am I just dreaming? In the shower I really can’t tell. The shower makes strife disappear: __Are those sounds of a fight?— __No, I’m not hearing right. And when the kids shout that they can’t live without me— It’s okay to ignore them in here. That steady pounding on the door? It’s rolling thunder, nothing more, Or maybe surf upon the shore. __No needs are presented, __No requests are repeated; __My feelings are vented, __My thoughts are completed! In this gently falling rain, I am finding peace again… No, time doesn’t stop in the shower; How I wish it would really comply! __It’s so hard to believe __Half an hour has passed Before I am finally dry. __But my soul is scrubbed clean __As the first dawn of spring, __And I can handle anything!— <crash> (“MOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!”) —Well, at least I’ll have to try… . . Leave Me Alone I’m off again, so far from home; __I’ve heard adventure calling: Through countless perils, new and strange __I roam uncharted lands, O’er mountain peaks, ‘cross turbid streams, __Through meadows, vast and sprawling, Surviving by my nimble wit __And even nimbler hands… When my unbroken concentration __Suddenly is broken, And distantly a murmur grows, __Of tiny voices pleading; The spell’s dispelled by cries of “Mommm!”— __More shouted out than spoken— Oh, why is it they cannot see __That I’m not here? ________________I’m READING! Previously published in The Lyric . . A Pennsylvania native now residing in Colorado, Anna J. Arredondo is an engineer by education, a home educator by choice, and by preference, a poet. She also has poems published in Light, The Lyric, and Time of Singing. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Trending now: 22 Responses jd December 29, 2022 Been there, Anna, and believe it or not, sometimes I miss it. Enjoyed reading all three. I think there may be a typo in the final verse of the first with an “e” missing in “breath”. Reply Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Oh, I believe it. I anticipate I will miss it too — someday! Thank you so much for your comment, and for catching the typo (which for the record was *my* fault, though I do know how to spell breathe). Thanks also to Mike Bryant for the quick correction! Reply Russel Winick December 29, 2022 Very enjoyable reads, Anna – all three. Thank you for sharing them. Reply Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Thank you, Russel! Reply C.B. Anderson December 29, 2022 All three were delightful. The tetrameter villanelle fairly crackles, and I liked the experimental heterometrics in “Time Machine”. Regarding the third poem, the insertion of “Suddenly is broken,” which is a trochaic line, really jacks up the rhythm, especially following a feminine ending, and I probably got more reading done back when kids were still in the house. Fine job. Reply Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Thank you, C.B. Means a lot. I appreciate having a word for what I did in “Time Machine” — heterometrics. Makes perfect sense, but I had never heard the word till now. One thing I like about both your poetry and your comments: my vocabulary always gets a boost! Reply Norma Pain December 29, 2022 Wonderfully funny and clever reads Anna. I also enjoyed all three and totally appreciate the sentiments expressed. When I look back on those times, I can appreciate it as funny, but not so much in the moment. Thank you for these fun poems. Reply Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Thank you so much, Norma. Yes, not always so funny in the moment, but having a sense of humor sure helps when you’re right in the middle of the mess! Reply Paul Buchheit December 29, 2022 Fun poems, Anna. And a great way to use your occasional breaks from the kids! Reply Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Thanks, Paul! I read “Crimes Against My Sanity” to my kids the moment I finished writing it. They got a kick out of it, but haven’t made any appreciable changes… 😉 Reply Joshua C. Frank December 29, 2022 Anna, all these are great! You’ve captured the day-to-day experience well. (I don’t have children, but I’ve had puppies, and they do all this too.) My favorite is the first one, because the villanelle is the perfect form for the topic of the Sisyphean task that is housework. But all three are well done! Reply Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Joshua, that’s an apt observation about the villanelle form and the Sisyphean task of housework, especially when it involves picking up after kids (or puppies). Thanks for the comment! Reply Allegra Silberstein December 29, 2022 Your poems are a delight…Thank you! Reply Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Thank you, Allegra! Reply Paul Freeman December 30, 2022 Crimes against Insanity – To make a villanelle so seamlessly chatty, humorous and relatable is stunning poetry. Time Machine – Pruned, but happy – until the next shower. So innovative to use something so prosaic as a shower to over-arch the poem. For some reason I was recalling the ‘orgasmatron’ from the Woody Allen film, ‘Sleeper’. Leave me Alone – I’m currently in Monaco (Chapter Three of ‘Rebecca’). Thanks for three great reads, Anna. Keep up the showering, the reading and the sanity. Reply Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Thank you, Paul. “Stunning” and “innovative” — I’ll take that! I’ll do my best at keeping it all up. 🙂 Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant December 30, 2022 These three beautifully crafted poems depict the daily duties of motherhood perfectly. I love your choice of the villanelle form for “Crimes Against My Sanity” (great title!). The repetition works superbly, and the easy conversational flow is masterly. My favorite is “Leave Me Alone”… but, only because I relate to it in my mainly adult world… nothing and no one should come between me and my book. 😉 Anna, thank you for these highly entertaining, admirably woven poems. They’re wonderful! Reply Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Susan, thank you for the generous praise. I’m so happy you can relate to that last one. That “nothing and no one should come between me and my book” — I couldn’t agree more! 😉 Reply Roy Eugene Peterson December 30, 2022 I love your poems on parenting and sense the occasional frustration with intrusions into your own quiet time–while never ceasing to love the little critters. Reply Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Thank you for your comment, Roy. I’m happy to see that the tone I intended has come through. Frustrating, but wouldn’t trade it for the world! Reply Margaret Coats December 31, 2022 Truly entertaining descriptions, Anna. I recall that at this stage of life a simple shower was the luxurious equivalent of girls’ day out at the salon spa. Or perhaps, of being up early enough and refreshed enough to go on that adventurous reading excursion! I hope Evan will add “Villanelle” to the categories for this post. A tetrameter villanelle is as good as any other. In fact, the very first villanelle (circa 1600 by Jean Passerat) of the now-standard form is in French octosyllables, and it has been translated into English tetrameter by villanelle scholar Amanda French, with two other English tetrameter versions by George Wyndham and by me. Yours, Anna, is more fun. Reply Anna J. Arredondo January 19, 2023 A very belated thank you, Margaret, for your lovely comment! Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
jd December 29, 2022 Been there, Anna, and believe it or not, sometimes I miss it. Enjoyed reading all three. I think there may be a typo in the final verse of the first with an “e” missing in “breath”. Reply
Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Oh, I believe it. I anticipate I will miss it too — someday! Thank you so much for your comment, and for catching the typo (which for the record was *my* fault, though I do know how to spell breathe). Thanks also to Mike Bryant for the quick correction! Reply
Russel Winick December 29, 2022 Very enjoyable reads, Anna – all three. Thank you for sharing them. Reply
C.B. Anderson December 29, 2022 All three were delightful. The tetrameter villanelle fairly crackles, and I liked the experimental heterometrics in “Time Machine”. Regarding the third poem, the insertion of “Suddenly is broken,” which is a trochaic line, really jacks up the rhythm, especially following a feminine ending, and I probably got more reading done back when kids were still in the house. Fine job. Reply
Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Thank you, C.B. Means a lot. I appreciate having a word for what I did in “Time Machine” — heterometrics. Makes perfect sense, but I had never heard the word till now. One thing I like about both your poetry and your comments: my vocabulary always gets a boost! Reply
Norma Pain December 29, 2022 Wonderfully funny and clever reads Anna. I also enjoyed all three and totally appreciate the sentiments expressed. When I look back on those times, I can appreciate it as funny, but not so much in the moment. Thank you for these fun poems. Reply
Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Thank you so much, Norma. Yes, not always so funny in the moment, but having a sense of humor sure helps when you’re right in the middle of the mess! Reply
Paul Buchheit December 29, 2022 Fun poems, Anna. And a great way to use your occasional breaks from the kids! Reply
Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Thanks, Paul! I read “Crimes Against My Sanity” to my kids the moment I finished writing it. They got a kick out of it, but haven’t made any appreciable changes… 😉 Reply
Joshua C. Frank December 29, 2022 Anna, all these are great! You’ve captured the day-to-day experience well. (I don’t have children, but I’ve had puppies, and they do all this too.) My favorite is the first one, because the villanelle is the perfect form for the topic of the Sisyphean task that is housework. But all three are well done! Reply
Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Joshua, that’s an apt observation about the villanelle form and the Sisyphean task of housework, especially when it involves picking up after kids (or puppies). Thanks for the comment! Reply
Paul Freeman December 30, 2022 Crimes against Insanity – To make a villanelle so seamlessly chatty, humorous and relatable is stunning poetry. Time Machine – Pruned, but happy – until the next shower. So innovative to use something so prosaic as a shower to over-arch the poem. For some reason I was recalling the ‘orgasmatron’ from the Woody Allen film, ‘Sleeper’. Leave me Alone – I’m currently in Monaco (Chapter Three of ‘Rebecca’). Thanks for three great reads, Anna. Keep up the showering, the reading and the sanity. Reply
Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Thank you, Paul. “Stunning” and “innovative” — I’ll take that! I’ll do my best at keeping it all up. 🙂 Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 30, 2022 These three beautifully crafted poems depict the daily duties of motherhood perfectly. I love your choice of the villanelle form for “Crimes Against My Sanity” (great title!). The repetition works superbly, and the easy conversational flow is masterly. My favorite is “Leave Me Alone”… but, only because I relate to it in my mainly adult world… nothing and no one should come between me and my book. 😉 Anna, thank you for these highly entertaining, admirably woven poems. They’re wonderful! Reply
Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Susan, thank you for the generous praise. I’m so happy you can relate to that last one. That “nothing and no one should come between me and my book” — I couldn’t agree more! 😉 Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson December 30, 2022 I love your poems on parenting and sense the occasional frustration with intrusions into your own quiet time–while never ceasing to love the little critters. Reply
Anna J. Arredondo December 30, 2022 Thank you for your comment, Roy. I’m happy to see that the tone I intended has come through. Frustrating, but wouldn’t trade it for the world! Reply
Margaret Coats December 31, 2022 Truly entertaining descriptions, Anna. I recall that at this stage of life a simple shower was the luxurious equivalent of girls’ day out at the salon spa. Or perhaps, of being up early enough and refreshed enough to go on that adventurous reading excursion! I hope Evan will add “Villanelle” to the categories for this post. A tetrameter villanelle is as good as any other. In fact, the very first villanelle (circa 1600 by Jean Passerat) of the now-standard form is in French octosyllables, and it has been translated into English tetrameter by villanelle scholar Amanda French, with two other English tetrameter versions by George Wyndham and by me. Yours, Anna, is more fun. Reply
Anna J. Arredondo January 19, 2023 A very belated thank you, Margaret, for your lovely comment! Reply