Life Work

 

I am continuing listing old poems, making a table of contents. Here's another I particularly like:

Life Work

Work

by Webster’s definition:

“physical or mental effort

directed towards a goal;

A job … employment … occupation …

act or deed ….”

In Webster’s,

describing work

takes up half a page

 

Society deems work

as something

you get paid to do

a service performed or

chores around the house

 

I want to know

about the other kind of “work.”

The work you don’t get paid for

and is often not recognized

or acknowledged by others.

The work that doesn’t

necessarily benefit anyone

but yourself …

and sometimes not even that

 

I want to know

about the work

that is never finished,

the work that if

you don’t do it

 you’ll die

or go crazy

or worse …

--Sasha Wolfe