poetry Raising the Floor

Labor Day Weekend, a time to acknowledge the burdens of hard work, Washington state poet Ira Woodward plays on the phrase "raising the floor"--meaning not only a moment to rest, but also time to raise the wages of working people.

Ira Woodward Blue Collar Review
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Raising the Floor

Sitting down

When you've been on your feet

All day --

Something just about anyone

Can relate to,

I think.

Not sitting in a street

Waiting for the police

To arrive.

We all need to eat.

We all need to work.

And food tastes better

When you know you earned it.

They aren't taking orders

Not today

The smiles are genuine,

And so is the desire to serve.

Supersize my heart,

That's all,

That's enough

For me.

And a chair,

Just a chair,

So I can sit down

At the end of the day.

Or

you can raise

The floor.

Above the pain

That pools down there.

Waste product

Of a life's work.

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Reprinted with permission from the Blue Collar Review: Journal of Progressive Working Class Literature (Spring 2015 issue).

Ira Woodward identifies himself as a resident of Burien, WA, with various online publications.