KONSTANTIN FISCHER, HANIA, CRETE

DOING THE DISHES

Sweet Jesus,

I know I shouldn't have,

sweet Jesus

I know I should have known.

I know

I shouldn't have looked at him

or should have looked better

when he came home.

Should have kept doing the dishes

when he came home without mom,

doing the dishes, one by one,

the plates, the glasses, the spoons:

the plates, one by one,

the glasses, one by one, and again

and the spoons, and rinse them –

can't tell you more, sweet Jesus, I can't.

Our secret he said, made me promise,

our secret between him and me –

and rinse them, rinse them again,

rinse them again, Jesus, one by one,

rinse them again, they are dirty, really dirty.

Dirty little slut, says my mum.

Don't know that word,

but I 'm sure she is right, always right:

I shouldn't have looked at him, at her man.

Sweet Jesus,

I know I shouldn't have,

sweet Jesus

I know I should have known:

'cause I'm a big girl now,

can do the dishes, now that I am five.

I should have known, sweet Jesus

I know I should have known

Konstantin Fischer, 2013