cinderella

Once, while I was still important and he and I were still talking, he called me Cinderella. And, what a fitting nickname it was, extending back a year. For years, the most important work I can find in a day is cleaning another dish, checking in on the kitchen once more. He didn't call me that then.

It was only recently. We were going to talk and I needed to finish scrubbing the toilets. "I'll talk to you soon, Cinderella." And I imagined how fast I would have worked had there been any prince to meet. He was no prince to go looking for me and I was no woman to respond.

I do not follow trends very regularly anymore. I do not own a T.V. and I do not read the news and I do not live in any epicenter of culture. I simply go about the days. But, I do know what silly bands are and I find them true to their name.

I clean toilets day in and day out. Today, at the winery, a guest gave me a silly band in the shape of a white shoe. And I thought, Cinderella; I'll wait for a love big enough to find me. I have been preparing my whole life to be a wife anyway, without me even knowing it.