The Daughters of Martha

The Daughters of Martha, since time began,
Stood in the shade of the glories of man
Ready to bolster the wall, if it tottered
Or care for the comfort of Mary’s sweet Daughters.

Ready to do whatever was needed
To make the world work, though too little heeded –
Carry the stone or split the wood
Scrape the skin or spill the blood.

Some have degrees, and build airplanes or roads
While others must bear a more literal load;
Still, service and shadows are their common part
To build and maintain is their only art.

Though Martha’s Sons toil and get little of glory
Their sisters are even a lesser-known story
For all of the tasks of all of their brothers
Are theirs too, and more, from the fate of their Mother.

So Mary’s girls smile, and Mary’s sons preen
While Martha’s sons labor to run the machines
But even those rest, worn out by their care
And then – leave the load for their sisters to bear!

Something Mechaieh wrote reminded me that I wrote this a while back and hadn’t posted it yet.

A little background for those who need it. The ultimate reference is to the parable of Mary and Martha, obviously, but the immediate reference is to Kipling’s The Sons of Martha. Kipling had a soft spot for engineers and when asked, designed a ceremony based on that poem that’s still used by Canadian engineering graduates. (It also involves an iron ring, I think in reference to his poem Cold Iron, so if you’ve met an engineer who wears one, that’s why.) But not all engineers are male, and for that matter a fairly large proportion of those who do the scutwork that makes the world run are not. Hence this reaction.