The Song Of The Dedicated Househelp Poem by RIC BASTASA

in London
and in Italy
the domestic
housekeeper
(euphemism
for Filipino maid)
sings
her song:

cleaning another
person's house
taking care of
another mother's kids
cooking for
the master
mopping their lawns
dusting their
carpets
wiping their
furniture
washing their
dirty clothes

all for the money

in her home country
her son has become
a drug addict,
her house sinks
in the water
there is no food in
the refrigerator
her husband is living
with another younger
woman
her papa is sick with
cancer
her mama is dead
she sends money
for the casket and
the wake
she prays some more
for her daughter
in school

in London
in Italy
she is not
a human being

in Hongkong
and in Singapore
some of them
become crazy
and kill their
master's kids
(who knows?)

the news headlines
says
Pinoy househelp
hangs herself
in the bathroom

another one jumps
from the 15th floor
crashing to the
ground
like a crushed
watermelon