A sink full of spider webs
A bowl of dirty water
A pen with no ink
A closet full of faded pictures
A bare bed with no sheets
Wet clothes hung on a long string
An old fan stood shakily with a missing wing
She stood barefoot on a holed carpet floor

Cold Bread lay lazily on a plate
Scrambled eggs sizzled in the greasy pan
The baby's diaper reeked of shit
The bottles needed to be cleaned
She was leaking, she needed to breastfeed
The baby was screaming, her mind was reeling
She had so much cleaning
She left the baby wailing with a ragged cloth between her rough fingers

The mistresses' sheets smelled of morning love
Hair flocked around the bathtub hole
Slime decorated the shower door
Dirt balls mingled with the leaking water on the floor
Shades of weariness settled in her face
Lines of old age crept around her eyes
The masters' shirts exuded the secretary's perfume
Her eyes sagged with weight of the house

Now it's evening
She's done cleaning
She's gathering…
The remains of her tattered life
Her baby is sleeping
She's crying…
For her lost husband
And for her fleeting youth
She's a housemaid…
Someone else's property
An overused commodity