Edna St Vincent Millay at the Supermarket “I, being born a woman and oppressed”
A Parody by Janet Kenny

I, being born a woman and oppressed
By endless preparation of huge meals
Am forced to heave this shopping cart on wheels
That contradict my will as though possessed.
I bear this load to stimulate your zest
For amorous adventures; shopping steals
My energy for better things. It feels
As if I have to pass your mother’s test.
Don’t think that I can be a cook and whore.
One or the other is your option here.
I doubt that when you ask the cook for more
The whore will be dessert for you my dear.
I find your gluttony a frightful bore
The parting of our ways is very near.

First Fig As fractured by Anon

My candle’s a flash in the night!
Its flame is exceedingly bright.
It burns at both ends
as its wax it expends
and it makes a spectacular light.