THE HOUSEKEEPER

Secrecy, be my housekeeper, please.

My dirty dishes need a good scrub

and the hate mail I must answer

needs a better cursive.

Amuse me with your mock drawl.

And teach me how to curse in Taiwanese.

Do these few things

and I’ll be your dark proverb,

your prodigy of shadow.

I will forfeit my adolescence

for your yellow glove.

Keep me company

while I watch you watch me suffer.

The truths we could tell

will line the cage of my hamster

who is forever chugging on the wheel.