Keeping vinegar or drippings
For some eventual use,
String and soap
And matches: we hoard.

With the grim economies
Of women, we pack
Our cupboards and drawers
Too full to shut.

We do not know
What dark day we are saving for,
Only that we must save
Whatever we can.

Some day we might need them,
These men, these children,
These words that fill our mouths
And choke us.