Like Stepford wives?
I viewed too much on social media yesterday—
of a conference: “Make Women Great Again,” run by men.
A hat worn: “Good Wife.”

Women to return to lives of what past?

                            (Already I am telling, not showing.
                            Good grief— how do I show?)

Perhaps it’s been forgotten—
the threads of history:

Women around flint-lit fires, potbelly stoves, modern kitchen islands—
rationing politics, working out news—
summations that wound up influencing nations.

Women skinning animals for blankets, guiding sewing machines,
demanding fitness, financial ease, and the right to think.
Surviving. Supporting families.

Women in European salons, the fierce circles of Gertrude Stein
and others of her kind— putting novels in our hands,
pottery dishes on the table, mathematical equations in our minds.

And threads in the needles of surgeons!
Do not believe otherwise, a history plagiarized,
swapping her ingenuity for his name.

                            (Am I telling too much again?)
                            Maybe instead:

Clinks of teacups,
kettle whistling validations,
a basket tipping autonomy,
poetry across a worn oak table.
Spaces filled to the brim.

And here I am—
blue dots dance on my screen.
A heart for me, a heart for her.
I call another friend. Hearts galore.
I want a hat for that.

No— I have poetry.

Tell me, do they make a “Good Husband” hat?
But I would question that, too.