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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Looking for clues in a down economy

My daddy said,
"Hard work has its rewards."
I assumed the wages would
at least tread water,
what with prices rising to a flood.

I always did play my part
the way it was
script-written.
There's a piled-high stack of bills
sitting here to prove it.

The banks won't let me
lay those puppies off,
and I'm too-small potatoes
to get tossed in
the too-big-to-fail bucket.

Someone's to blame,
that's for damn sure,
but with so many likely suspects
I wish I'd been paying
closer attention.


At We Write Poems this week, Dan Rako asked us to walk a mile in the shoes of someone for whom we have antipathy. Being leftward-leaning politically, I have a natural tendency to suspect any movement birthed from the right, but there are some legitimate economic grievances hidden in the sometimes nasty rhetoric of the grassroots Tea Party activists (and discounting the motives of the upper-echelon organizers, who I think have a more nefarious agenda).

9 comments:

Jenny said...

"Now looky here.
I did not say I was a millionare.
But I said I have spent more money than a millionare.
Cause if I had kept all of the money I had already spent,
I'd woulda been a millionare a long time ago." (Howlin' Wolf)

flaubert said...

Francis well said!
Pamela

brenda w said...

Any poem that starts with "My daddy said," is going to grab my attention. My favorite lines?
"I'm too small potatoes to get tossed in the too-big-too-fail bucket." Been there, felt that.

Well done!
btw LoL at Jenny's comment-

Linda Frances said...

You've managed to, in a few lines, to write a lament. well done.

Dina Spice said...

Thumbs up all around, Francis. I really like the casual tone to it.

- Dina

Mary said...

Well written poem! Point well made.


http://inthecornerofmyeye.blogspot.com/2010/06/thats-life.html

Dan said...

If you owe the bank a million dollars,
you're in trouble.

If you owe the bank one hundred million dollars,
the bank's in trouble.

Stan Ski said...

No one's indipensible, just some are more dispensible than others...

Francis Scudellari said...

@Jenny The Wolf was a wise man :).

@Pamela Thanks!

@Brenda I'm still in the small potatoes bucket, but I have good company.

@Linda Unfortunately it's a pretty common lament these days.

@Dina Thanks. I tried to create a voice to fit the character.

@Mary I hope so.

@Dan I owe neither amount, so I think we're all ok for now :).

@Stan Truer words have never been said.