Thursday, January 22, 2009

poem about the lay off

I am thinking about  your  lay off 
 as a kind of death
because you go through  all the stages:
shock, numbness, bargaining, guilt, anger
vertigo as the ground spins
beneath you and the every day doings
of your life are gone,
 and finally GRIEF
for this loss of livelihood
but when  it happens
without warning
a call in the middle of the afternoon
that ends the world
as you've known it
handing over the badge
no goodbyes allowed
packing up after hours
that is the worst
you just disappear
with the story  never told
of where you went
when you don't show up at the meeting
no one knows why
this kind of death
feels more like a murder
kept  secret
 


1 comment:

  1. What fine words, they help to turn a hardship into something bitter sweet. When we greive we tap into a sorrow shared by all who have had to face the death of a loved one. These words help collect and make visible the grief being experienced by so many who have lost there jobs. It makes one aware that there is community wide secret pain happening.

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