people look at me they got
they look so afraid in their eyes
they got when they look at me it’s like
what do people why
i don’t
never mind forget it’s not
can you spare
do you have any
mister excuse me sir
excuse me sir do you
excuse me sir can you spare some change
i’d like to get something to eat you don’t
excuse me mister could you spare
some change i’m trying i want
i’m trying to get to california
(Copyright 2023 by Tetman Callis.)
we are the workers, the telemarketers and associates, frayed-collar seasonals
and scuffed-shoe temps, assemblers of components and stackers of goods,
salt of the earth, populating battlefield and factory and giant retail outlet,
we are the shareholders of scraps, hard-scrabbling for a can of peas
and a ticket to the game
we are the workers, we take no franchise, all but silent save
the muttering of complaint (they’ll fire you if they hear you say that)
we puff our cigarettes just outside steel-plated back doors, our exhaled smoke
bright in the winter sun, our breath smoky in the cold morning air
we are the workers, we watch from the sidelines, from balcony seats, from back rows
we are the men and women who take the late shift, who clean up the mess,
scouring and buffing, sweeping and dusting, making the world shine spotless and bright
(Copyright 2023 by Tetman Callis.)
“Thou shouldst ever keep the virtuous before thee as thy models; thou shouldst ever with retrospective eye compare thy acts with those of the virtuous; thou shouldst ever disregard the hard words of the wicked. Thou shouldst ever make the conduct of the wise the model upon which thou art to act thyself. The man hurt by the arrows of cruel speech hurled from one’s lips, weepeth day and night. Indeed, these strike at the core of the body. Therefore the wise never fling these arrows at others. There is nothing in the three worlds by which thou canst worship and adore the deities better than by kindness, friendship, charity and sweet speeches unto all. Therefore, shouldst thou always utter words that soothe, and not those that scorch.” – The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Vol. I, Sambhava Parva of the Adi Parva, trans. Pratap Chandra Roy