What I'd Say (2016) Poem by Jeffrey Tillery

I'm confused

How can I simultaneously be asked to
Clean your houses
Plant and harvest your food
Prepare your meals
Mow your lawns
Repair your cars
Build your homes
Sew your cloths
Pay taxes
Shop at your local merchants
Buy your televisions, toasters and happy meals
And care for your children for God's sake
And be called
Rapist, criminal, drug dealer, taker?

On second thought, maybe you are confused.

If you want my job, apply for it.
There are openings.
See if you can do it.
You have grown too 'sophisticated' to do what I do.
You have too much pride to serve your fellow man.
So much work is beneath you.
I have more in common with the unemployed
Rust-belt factory worker than anyone.
Imagine, if China was your geographical neighbor
They would build a wall
To keep your engineers out.
You see me running in the fields from furrow to truck
Because I am paid pennies for every crate I pick.
Pennies I use to feed my family, not to get tattoos.
I am the perfect example of capitalism.

Build the wall, and clean your own house.