Skilled Labor

A few simple haikus

There is no such thing
as “unskilled” labor or work
that term is a lie

The deep endurance
to labor in the sun
is a skill of its own

“Anyone can do that”
are the words of someone
who’s never done it

it’s the tale fools tell
to create haves and have-nots
masters and slaves

Don’t let the those
wielding privilege and power
obscure the world’s truth

I’ve held many a dirty job, worked side-by-side with people with hands made of leather, and watched as they did for me what I haven’t the knowledge of doing. I’ve worked beside janitors, fruit pickers, garbage haulers, lawn mowers, servers and table waiters.

I’ve come to understand that there is no such thing as unskilled labor, for the endurance to labor without end is a skill in itself. This skill, which grows and harvest our food and fixes our sidewalks, is the most essential skill any person can have.

For too long, people in suits sitting in comfortable chairs have cast this work as something anyone can do and is therefore not as valuable. For too long, this work has been cast as undesirable and worthy of nothing more than minimum wage. This is a lie, an idea that only serves the “haves” to have more, and the “have nots” to have less. And for this and the dawn of our first trillionaire, I am ready for words of rebellion.

-Johnny, Under Sky