by Larry Crist
This Kind of Work
leaves the hands hard
the mind soft
all day
day after day
it takes its toll
on the ears
the back
your knees
the arches in your feet
The kind of work
you can wear the same shirt
2 days in a row
don’t need to shave or
clean your nails
drilling, pounding, lifting
measuring
exactness
inserting something into something
to code
to specifications
as other eyes inspect
rampant curses
sonic boom belching
the hollow slam of a plastic door
to the latrine
The check in the mail
already spent
The kind of work
they warned you of
if you didn’t do what they said
and you didn’t
and now you do
Larry Crist‘s first poetry collection Undertow Overtures is available through Amazon and select NW bookstores. He lives in Seattle.
Painting: “Hard Work” by Sara Bogen
This is brilliant. Sparse, efficient, crystal clear. You’ve accurately portrayed the experience of millions of souls in 100 words or less.