swimming lessons

our suffering salts oceans

submerge in it
humbled by its grandesse

swim swim swim swim
swim swim swim

buoyed by ancestral grace

then get out, dry off
live legacy

love laugh thrive

our joys float cirrus striations

nothing but work

a job ain't nothing but work, says my friend
but happiness and goodwill alone don't spend

mortgage and gas and clothing ain't free
so work ain't nothing foreign to me

done babysat
and scooped ice cream
guarded lives
and checked out books
served food
washed plates
withstood dirty looks
typed memos
answered phones
in syrup sweet tones
sold clothes i couldn't afford
wrote volumes on blackboards
done chalked and talked while young minds balked
left that to birth my very own
world comes full circle like twilight zone
now i'm good as i wanna be
with friends, respect, and good money
damn i'm glad i gotta job
opportunity knocked and i turned the knob
but some days i'm tired of being a working slob
when work gets old
future's untold
choices slim
like they been hitting the gym
1-find long lost uncle with loot to spare
2-find old man who'll pay to be touched down there
3-find wet spot on a grocery floor
4-give all up and be happy poor
5-early to bed and early to rise,
go in with a smile like i just won first prize
cause much as i wish this role i could shirk
i gotta carry my ass to bed, and be on time for work