TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED

For women, the end of the twentieth century

is no big deal.

After Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem

we had hoped for better things,

but where has all that consciousness raising gotten us?

We are stretched thin,

trying to fill the shoes of our mothers

while pushing our way

into the world of our fathers.

Meantime, we are blamed

for the problems of our children.

Some harsh master or mistress expects us to be all things,

including

having an ageless body,

incredible orgasms on demand,

and the calm nature of a Zen master.

We try for a little spiritual sustenance,

only to be bombarded by articles in women’s magazines

blithering about decorating the perfect house

in the 1950’s style.

At the same time

we are expected to whip up

a gourmet meal in twenty minutes,

not forgetting our aim

of losing twenty pounds

in ten days.

Men are discovering their inner feminine nature

as we go off to offices

dressed in tailored navy slack suits,

leaving the children in the hands of tired workers

at the local day care center.

Some call this “the sandwich generation.”

Often we must care for aging parents

while trying to cope with rebellious teenagers.  

We wonder what the new century will bring.

We begin to long for the dull world of our mothers,

who stayed at home to suckle their babies

and be there with milk and cookies

when the kindergartners came home from school.

We are told that now we can have it all.

I can’t help wondering

what “all” is.

© Peggy Latham, 2012

Gloria Steinem, 1972: Photo from
Wikimedia Commons