Linda M. Crate, 3/16/2020

 

mostly i am angry

a billionaire ceo

says that you shouldn't

take restroom or lunch breaks,

and be the first there and the last to leave;

but tell me why should i break my back

for a company who doesn't

appreciate me?

they take me for granted,

expect me to work like a horse,

and do nothing in the way of helping me;

they always expect my best

even when i am feeling my worst—

& last year gave me a promotion without a raise,

i don't understand the thought process

behind poor people don't work hard enough

every single day i give it my all;

but it never seems enough—

i am exhausted, i am tired, but mostly i am angry

that people expect me to waste my life doing this

instead of following my dreams because 

a life without hope isn't one worth living.

 

we're all so tired 

pulled myself up by my bootstraps

so many times they're worn and weathered

because i've broken so many other

pairs,

and these are likely to go, too;

why do i work so hard to get so little?

this is the question i keep asking myself

because i feel so exhausted,

my soul wearies

of going to a place that just empties

me of joy;

this may be someone's idea of a dream

but it's not mine—

i don't dream of making subs, pizzas, 

sliders, soups, pretzels, melts, or any of the rest;

i dream of a day where i don't have to do this work

and can do my heart's work instead because this job

hasn't got any heart or soul only greedy hands

always wanting more work done but giving us fewer

people and fewer hours,

and we're all so tired.