Newest Work Poems (218)

I could've had religion
but I loved God too much
I could've fought for a living
in boxing rings and such

but I guess we are who we are
and we can't outrun ourselves
and the traits that make us rounded
are often stored in others shelves

I could've been kinder
to the girls that shared my bed
I couldve talked and listened
and let some inside in my head

but the world's an inverted question mark
pointing to the east
and the sum of every good I've done
is balanced on a beast

the more dangerous the obstacle
the more determined I am in tone
see I've always been a protector
to every soul I've known

for work I mind for money
the wealthy and great
the affluent and healthy
beneath the cloak of fate

at home i shroud my family
by planning and device
a shield of hard experience
deep roots untouched by ice

I couldve had a different life
I couldve been carefree
I couldve swam in lukewarm ways
but I chose the Atlantic sea

as cold as knives each morning
as salt it licks my scars
I see the dawn's reflection
in a billion floating stars

I went on a website where employees can rate their experience
Working for a company
The employee can rate their job from one star to five stars
I looked up Melaleuca, a company that sells bathroom, laundry, and health foods
Another was McDonalds that sells Happy Meals, one dollar sodas, and burgers
Cummins, is where I work, which sells engines, mufflers, and metal parts
Piggly Wiggly is a grocery chain that sells milk, donuts, and cheese curds
The highest score went to Melaleuca with an average over 30 reviews of 4
The second place went to McDonalds with an average of 3.9
The third place went to where I work at, Cummins, with an average of 3.8
The last place went to Piggly Wiggly with an average of 3.3
I have worked as a detassler of corn, packager of Swiss cheese
Developing photos in a photo lab, washing dishes, making burgers
Washing pots and pans, making Brie and Feta cheese, shipping bacon and ham
Mowing grass, picking up aluminum cans, and making mufflers
Helping skiers and snowboarders on the chair lift
Which was my favorite? Helping the people at Chestnut Mountain
Because the girls were pretty and positive, I sat most of the time
And I got to eat whatever I wanted and drink free Mt Dew and Hot Coco
My least favorite was Making Brie and Feta cheese
Because the work was hard and sweaty
And the people were mean backstabbers
I made minimum wage at my favorite job
I made one dollar more an hour at my least favorite job

There are so many who have come and gone through the years
Some were nice to be around, most were not
I'm super shy, so that sure doesn't help to foster a good time for me
I really wish I had gotten a job long ago where it was just me, myself, and I
But still I have the memories of these people, and that is something
The guy from Hardee's went golfing with me in 1988
The girl from Hardee's went out with me on a date
The girl from d*ck's got me, thank god she wasn't late
The teacher from Cassville made me a meal
The guy from Peru at the cheese plant in Belmont talked about potatoes with zeal
The young man from Fiji at the freezer plant in East Dubuque like my music a lot
The guy from South America at the muffler shop in Mineral Point was nice
The women at Chestnut in Galena were so pretty they would melt January ice
I could talk about the rest who weren't so well
But for now all I can say is...
They can just go to HELL!

a white cloud of teeth
approaches
looks..
and reconsiders

02:03
at the nightclub
a confrontation
I work the door

a struggle
we trade
I remove
the bigger man

he sees
his own blood
my squat silhouette
heavy goatee

"you are just
a psychotic walrus..! "
shouts he
from kerbside chamfered bivouac

guffaws
from staff
onlookers
bystanders


nickname..
tattoo

With these hands
Through this heart
Beauty is fashioned
For folk at sea.

all I was given was strength
a dull and blunted tool
I stare out at beauty
with the clarity of a fool

all I was given was ferocity
a rulebook without rules
a limited life vocabulary
an outdated set of tools

all you were given was beauty
intelligence and grace
a heart to dry my soul and boat
my lighthouse is your face

all I was given was physicality
an afterthought, a whim
I struggle in the mighty seas
the great minds often swim

all you were given was a kindness
wrapped around a true
all I was given was brutality
it stops me from loving you

Soaked in sweat
My head feels like it has been boiled like an egg
I have diarrhea
I don't care any more about this job
It is supposed to be better than this
You have air conditioning for the managers
But they don't want to share it with the workers
I wonder how the sweat shops across the world are doing in this weather
If you work for one of these places you are at the mercy of mother nature
When it is not June, July, or August, you do ok
But this is the time when you are tested
How much crap can I put up with?
But still I am glad I make more than Vietnamese workers
Who only make 2.50 dollars a day

2019 7
2018 143
2017 39
2016 21
2015 30
2014 32
2013 29
2012 5
2011 7
2010 2
2009 0
2008 13
2007 47

I started in the years 2007 and 2013 as they had a massive layoff one week before Christmas that year. I left at 13.45, and returned in 2013 starting out at 9.50. I have gone up from there quite a bit. The only problem is that someone starting can make what it took me 12 years to achieve in just their first raise. Not very fair, but I am sure it is like this other places too.

A factory full of odds and ends, assembled and arranged in lines by non-mechanical beings.
Punchdrunk time cards chart their lives through typical weeks with typical tasks.
Printing the barcodes, scanning the barcoded things.
Plotting points on a graph, crunching numbers - like a cog in a machine.

And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make
I was listening to this song today at work
It seems a lot of the time I feel like a jerk
Am I making love when I work for this multinational company?
Or am I just making them more money?
I don't feel much love out there in the work world
It seems like a rigged game to me
The rich win and everyone else loses
I think the people who get the most enjoyment out of their work
Are the ones who work for themselves
The ones who have found something they enjoy doing
And found a way to also make money at it
The professional golfers or singers or artists
If I had a way to make love and make money at the same time
Being an artist would be where it is at
Then there is no theft of your time, your body, your mind or your soul
There is only one thing
And that is love