the hardest workers never get what they deserve
I loved your stories
I loved your style
you were true
and, my dude, you were real
the sound of those dumpster wheels
signaled the approach of a damn O.G.
through and through
sent from a time when people really knew
how to wheel and deal
can we give this guy an award or something?
to show him what it’s all about…
a person’s value can be a complicated thing —
you can ask for something more,
but the gods will hear it
and they’ll strike you down
for flying so close to that dirty sun…
sure, you can fight it,
but losing’s never easy,
and leaving isn’t fun…
but I understand, this time,
it’s what had to be done
now there’s a big hole here
in the shape of you…
I can still see those filthy hands,
those bleeding palms —
you bragging about how much you’ve done
— and rightfully so…
you’re the best of ’em
and you might think they didn’t know it,
but they did…
and, somehow, we’ve all come to feel the loss
Garbage Notes:
This one’s about good workers not getting what they deserve. And then getting punished when they ask for what they’re entitled to.
It’s about a sort of work ethic that seems to be going away. A willingness and desire to get your hands dirty and garner a deep satisfaction from the labor itself.
It’s about the sort of person who will give their all for the sake of it, even if it isn’t the kind of work that’s glamorous or respected by society.
All jobs are important jobs. All jobs are real jobs. And all jobs should enable a person to feel empowered and provide enough for them to support themselves and their families.
As mentioned toward the end, we’d most certainly feel the loss if all the good workers just stopped what they were doing. I think the part of the poem I like most is this one:
“you can ask for something more,
but the gods will hear it
and they’ll strike you down
for flying so close to that dirty sun…”
It emphasizes the fact that many of us play it safe simply because we’re afraid—worried that if we go after what we deserve, we’ll get punished for it. Talented individuals often take the hit just for being ambitious.
So many people are quitting jobs because of shitty environments, bad management, paltry wages, or lack of fair treatment. Unless our attitudes about meaningful labor finally start to change, the world around us will continue to descend into the grotesquely absurd dystopia that science fiction writers have feared for decades. And then we’ll all really be fucked.
Not all jobs can be done by robots. And we should never treat human beings like they are machines.
Franco Amati 2023
porter
I couldn't agree more with your words. Enough said.
I really don't know how long the people will be able to endure all the crap employers are putting on them. It will soon brake, and it won't be pretty.