One of my favorite poets, Philip Levine:
What Work Is
We stand in the rain in a long line
waiting at Ford Highland Park. For work.
You know what work is—if you’re
old enough to read this you know what
work is, although you may not do it.
Forget you. This is about waiting,
shifting from one foot to another.
Feeling the light rain falling like mist
into your hair, blurring your vision
until you think you see your own brother
ahead of you, maybe ten places.
You rub your glasses with your fingers,
and of course it’s someone else’s brother,
narrower across the shoulders than
yours but with the same sad slouch, the grin
that does not hide the stubbornness,
the sad refusal to give in to
rain, to the hours of wasted waiting,
to the knowledge that somewhere ahead
a man is waiting who will say, “No,
we’re not hiring today,” for any
reason he wants. You love your brother,
now suddenly you can hardly stand
the love flooding you for your brother,
who’s not beside you or behind or
ahead because he’s home trying to
sleep off a miserable night shift
at Cadillac so he can get up
before noon to study his German.
Works eight hours a night so he can sing
Wagner, the opera you hate most,
the worst music ever invented.
How long has it been since you told him
you loved him, held his wide shoulders,
opened your eyes wide and said those words,
and maybe kissed his cheek? You’ve never
done something so simple, so obvious,
not because you’re too young or too dumb,
not because you’re jealous or even mean
or incapable of crying in
the presence of another man, no,
just because you don’t know what work is.
20 comments:
Thanks goodness for unions. Most people today have no idea what life would be like if they hadn't existed.
On my last two jobs I always signed up for a regular monthly contribution to the union's political-action fund, beyond the basic dues. Unions are still the strongest force on the side of the ordinary person against the massive concentrations of wealth in a few hands that support the other side.
Speaking of which, look at this from 1956 -- it's almost incredible how far the Republicans of today have moved away from what they once were.
________ PRIMARY SOURCES ________
Look well upon the men who dig in mines,
And work machines in mills and factories grim.
Be aware that those who tend the vines
Or till the soil give much for wages slim.
Reaping sowing, weeding, hoeing make
Full the nation’s store of nutriment.
Overland the burly truckers take
Rich provisions and accoutrement
Coast to coast. The teamsters load and haul
Enormous hordes of stuff that we’ve empowered,
Shipped in freighters, stored in silos tall,
Delivered, well-displayed, and then devoured.
Awards are due the goods and who supplies them,
Yet the wise despise the guys who advertise them.
~ FreeThinke - The Sandpiper, Summer, 1996
________ To Those Who Help ________
May God bless the practical women and men,
Who rise from the hay every day, and then
Produce what we need
Without rancor or greed,
Make things run,
Get things done,
Keep things clean,
So they're fit to be seen,
And continuously smooth the way
So that we may live decently every day.
~ FreeThinke
__ Of a Woman, Dead Young __
If she had been beautiful, even,
Or wiser than women about her,
Or had moved with a certain defiance;
If she had had sons at her sides,
And she with her hands on their shoulders,
Sons, to make troubled the Gods-
But where was there wonder in her?
What had she, better or eviler,
Whose days were a pattering of peas
From the pod to the bowl in her lap?
That the pine tree is blasted by lightning,
And the bowlder split raw from the mountain,
And the river dried short in its rushing-
That I can know, and be humble.
But that They who have trodden the stars
Should turn from Their echoing highway
To trample a daisy, unnoticed
In a meadow of small, open flowers --
Where is Their triumph in that?
Where is Their pride, and Their vengeance?
~ Dorothy Parker (1893-1967)
___________________________________
The empathetic, yet bitter, self-pitying and accusatory tone of Levine's poem on The Meaning of Work reminded me of Parker's piece, though Parker directs her anger toward God not society, and her empathy far outweighs any hint of bitterness or self-pity.
Note the curious spelling of boulder as "bowlder." I've never seen that anywhere else, have you?
Alternate (Conservative) title: "The ballad of the Takers". Clearly this guy should get "skilled up".
"it's almost incredible how far the Republicans of today have moved away from what they once were."
Yes. Incredible and terribly terribly sad -- tragic really -- for the future of our country.
I am old enough to have known and had contact with any number of people born and raised to maturity in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Several members of my family were immigrants who came over in The Great Migration to try their luck in this "The Land of Opportunity."
They came without funds, and little but the clothes in their backs. They had little education, but they did have sound instincts, lots of ambition, a good work ethic, and a high degree of personal integrity. They did not have it easy, but they never complained, they just quietly forged ahead step by step, day by day, and ultimately they did very well. They fulfilled "The American Dream."
Things were nowhere near as bad in the pre-World War One Era as you, apparently, either want to believe or have been led to believe reading iconoclastic, modern "revisionist" textbooks and listening to lecturers determined to work zealously to subvert our Constitution and establish "A New World Order" in its place.
My relatives and their friends and contemporaries were real people, not part of a pile of skewed statistics put in a book to prove a tendentious thesis. They were flesh and blood. I knew them, and loved them, and greatly admired them. They were hardly unique, like most other members of their generation, and working class position in life they just worked hard, did what they had to do in order to survive, but never lost fait in their Vision of a Better Life -- a life they did achieve thanks to the blessings of free enterprise we enjoyed at that time.
Mr. Sanders, as a frequent visitor and sometime contributor to Ms Shaw’s blog I am, nevertheless, hardly part of the “in” crowd here.
As an outsider, I find it all-but-impossible to decipher your last remark. Would you be so kind, please, as to rephrase it in intelligible English, so I and other “outsiders” might have a chance to know to whom and what you are referring, and the thought you had hoped to convey?
You’ll have to forgive my opacity, but, even though the language is nearly moribund, and may soon go the way of Latin and ancient Greek, I still do my best to communicate in standard English.
Mr. Dervish Sanders prefers riddles to straight talk. And, as his site, Sleeping with The Devil confirms he is a bit of a story teller. He was also named a shithead by the esteemed authority on all things shitheaded by Joe Truth 101 Kelly.
What is the point of this RN? Shaw commented on that thread, so she is aware of it's existence. Joe Kelly is now a Republican (by his own admission), so being labeled a "shithead" by a Republican could be considered a badge of honor.
As for this claim about preferring riddles to straight talk, I would say that applies to YOU. I recently attempted to set you straight concerning a fib about Nancy Pelosi you seem fond of... I asked why you kept insisting she said the ACA needed to be passed so *we* (the legislators who voted on it) could find out what was in it WHEN she (in fact) said *you* (the public) would find out what was in it after passage (when the the public was subjected to it and started benefiting from it).
At first RN said I was "technically" right, but then he walked that back and said there was no difference. When I pressed him for clarification I was met with accusations of being stupid (RN said I needed to "read slowly") and attempting to "evade the truth".
That is when I gave up. RN evaded the truth with a gobbledygook response in which he accused me of what he was guilty of. Hmmm... could the reason for this dishonesty be that it is actually RN who is a shithead?
No, sorry, that couldn't be it. RN is friendly to Progressives... right? I must be imagining the hostility toward me, and distaste for me in RN's comment above. I must be reading RN all wrong. By saying I talk in riddles and that I am "a bit of a story teller" RN certainly is not implying that I am a liar. Shaw says she doesn't like personal attacks, so no way RN would try to sneak any in.
FT: I find it all-but-impossible to decipher your last remark. Would you be so kind, please, as to rephrase it in intelligible English...
The guy in the poem isn't working, he's standing in line waiting for a job. Waiting for a job you may or may not get doesn't pay the bills. Could be that he is receiving some government assistance to feed his family? And he's waiting for a lower paying manual labor job... aren't these people included in the Republican-defined "Taker" category? Romney said it was 47 percent of the population, which is a LOT of people. Surely he was including the working poor (or at least some of them)... which the guy in the poem probably was.
Clearly the guy in the poem needs to improve his skill set and get a better job... instead of just waiting for a lower paying manual labor position.
BTW, if you still think what I'm saying is "all-but-impossible to decipher" and not in "intelligible English"... sorry, that's the best I can do.
You missed the point already Mr. Sanders. So in that sense there may be no sense in pursuing this further.
As to setting me straight. Aside from the FACT I am as straight as an arrow it would not be possible for one such as yourself, who is just a bit more than twisty, to set even a slightly bent twig straight.
Of course I am not implying Mr. Dervish is lying. I was very clear about that. As to story telling, well, perhaps I am missing something but I could have sworn Mr. Dervish makes many points in story telling form. Maybe I'm missing something?
Yes, RN has always been friendly to rational progressives that don't just look for pie in the sky. Exactly what that means I suppose varies with different intellects.
I have tired of word salads, whether they be tossed by conservatives or progressives. And you Mr. Sanders are a Tosser Extraordinaire.
Deny it if you like Mr. "straight as an arrow" (ha, ha) but I take that as an insult (an accusation that I'm guilty of a crime Sarah Palin is notorious for).
In regards to twistiness... I don't make up nonsense nicknames like "Canardo" for others. And I don't accuse others of "evading the truth" or "twisting, spinning and turning" when someone disagrees with me.
There was no point to miss (at least not any "point" YOU thought you were making). If there was one and I missed it... you have only YOUR word salad to blame.
And, regarding your comment that you have "always been friendly to rational progressives that don't just look for pie in the sky"... well, that's me. Waiting for the "friendliness" to begin... but I won't hold my breath.
Good choice Canardo.
More nonsense from RN. I expected as much. I don't know why anyone on the Left talks to you.
And I don't know why anyone from the center talks to YOU Canardo.
A little perspective:
Joe Legal: $25.00 per hour x 40 hours = $1000.00 per week, or $52,000.00 per year. Now take 30% away for state and federal tax;
Joe Legal now has $31,231.00.
Jose Illegal: $15.00 per hour x 40 hours = $600.00 per week, or $31,200.0 0 per year. Jose Illegal pays no taxes.
Jose Illegal now has $31,200.00.
Joe Legal pays medical and dental insurance with limited coverage for his family at $600.00 p...er month, or $7,200.00 per year.
Joe Legal now has $24,031.00.
Jose Illegal has full medical and dental coverage through the state and local clinics and emergency hospitals at a cost of $0.00 per year.
Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.
Joe Legal makes too much money and is not eligible for food stamps or welfare. Joe Legal pays $500.00 per month for food,
or $6,000.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $18,031.00.
Jose Illegal has no documented income and is eligible for food stamps, WIC and welfare. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.
Joe Legal pays rent of $1,200.00 per month, or $14,400.00 per year. Joe Legal now has 9,631 .00.
Jose Illegal receives a $500.00 per month Federal Rent Subsidy. Jose Illegal pays out that $500.00 per month, or $6,000.00 per year.
Jose Illegal still has $ 31,200.00.
Joe Legal pays $200.00 per month, or $2,400.00 for car insurance. Some of that is uninsured motorist insurance. Joe Legal now has $7,231.00.
Jose Illegal says, "We don't need no stinkin' insurance!" and still has $31,200.00.
Joe Legal has to make his $7,231.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, etc..
Jose Illegal has to make his $31,200.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, and what he sends out of the country every month..
Joe Legal now works overtime on Saturdays or gets a part time job after work.
Jose Illegal has nights and weekends off to enjoy with his family.
Joe Legal's and Jose Illegal's children both attend the same elementary school. Joe Legal pays for his children's lunches,
while Jose Illegal's children get a government sponsored lunch. Jose Illegal's children have an after school ESL program.
Joe Legal's children go home.
Now, when they reach college age, Joe Legal's kids may not get into a State School and may not qualify for scholarships,
grants or other tuition help, even though Joe has been paying for State Schools through his taxes, while Jose Illegal's kids
"go to the head of the class" because they are a minority.
Joe Legal and Jose Illegal both enjoy the same police and fire services, but Joe paid for them and Jose did not pay.
Do you get it, now?
If you vote for or support any politician that supports illegal aliens... You are part of the problem!
Anon: "Jose Illegal pays no taxes."
Total bullpuckey.
Everytime someone buys gas, cigaretts, and any sort of goods, including food, THEY PAY TAXES.
I stopped reading your b.s. after you made that stupid error.
The American corporations and companies that make it easy for undocumented folks to work here are the problem, not the poor who find work here in order to feed themselves and their children.
There, in two nutshells, you have it folks
I guess RN got one over on me, as clearly "Canardo" is "canard" plus an "o". So RN is calling me a liar... which (like I said earlier) is nonsense. RN is the Canardo, his "straight as an arrow" claim from earlier in this thread being proof of that.
And, as I've already established, he's a huge Canardo when it comes to a certain statement from Nancy Pelosi concerning the ACA.
Pish tosh and prittle prattle!
So much ado about nothing!
Clytemnestra O'Rourke
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