Rib

I keep the books at the country courthouse
And answer phones of every kind from coast to coast
Help keep the astronauts in space with complicated formules
And give you echoes of my voice in song

I wash your dishes iron your shirts
And give you children
And never mind a bit except when you forget
That I am flash of your flesh and bone of your bone

And that Adam called me woman
For I am the rib
And not a footbone to be stepped on
Not a legbone to be walked on

Not a hipbone to be sat on
Not a backbone to be leaned on
Not a shoulder bone to be cried on
Not a headbone to be relied on

But a ribbon to be side by side
Hand in hand
Not lesser then
Not greater then
But just what heaven planned
Yes, you see I am the rib

Many fields have I bought
And with my own hands
Have I planted winyards
With the fruits of my labors
I have reached out to the prove

Before the light of day
I have risen to feed my household
And my husband is known in the gates
When he sits among the elders of the land

My pride is far above rubies
But for love trust and respect
Will I gladly share my gifts
And willingly will I walk for good but not for evil

As long as he remembers that I am the rib
And not a footbone...
For I am the rib