Work and Class

Getting by with what you got.

We were never rich,
or poor,
we were just able
to get by
with what we were payed
to work for.

Our wages
could barely cover
the roof over our heads,
let alone
put good food on the table.

Birthdays and holidays
were the hardest
to get through,
because presents
were never a luxury,
they were necessities,
like socks and shoes.

I tried to make a living
like my father before me,
but back then things were different.

You could work forty hours a week
and your spouse could stay at home
with the children and you made ends meet,
life was alright.

Sure, the work may have been a bit tougher,
but it made you appreciate the job,
these days nobody wants to work hard
and they still want to get paid top dollar,
so the working class just gave up it seems.

Now, if you have a partner and a child,
both of you need to work forty plus hours
a week and pay for daycare and somehow
try to pay all of the bills, shop thrifty for food,
conserve fuel for your vehicle,
and those socks and shoes need to last
until the holes in them are so big,
you can feel the rocks on the ground
with the bottom of your sole.