This, her career, so closely interknit

With holier demands as deep as life

That to refuse to cook is held the same

As to refuse her wife and motherhood.

Six mortal hours a day to handle food,—

Prepare it, serve it, clean it all away,—

With allied labors of the stove and tub,

The pan, the dishcloth, and the scrubbing-brush.

Developing forever in her brain

The power to do this work in which she lives;