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Array
(
[sid] => 121858
[catid] => 1
[aid] => mick
[title] => Seekers
[time] => 2006-06-16 10:44:07
[hometext] => I work the fronlines of the employment office - the people I see are the seekers. This is a long poem I love to read aloud, it seems even more true
[bodytext] => Seekers -1- Their faces blank, gloomy. Annoyed, sardonic smiles. This is not fun. Any attempt at pleasantries is suspect They arrive alone, in pairs, incognito. The stigma intensely stings. Are people staring? Together, but not they search, for the meaning lost. Meaning the forklift, or computer screen gave them, or so they thought Daily routines fade away with the status once held. Even broom pusher or accountant .sounds better than couch sitter, or the father without a job, or the mother in the food bank line -2- 'I was my job, now I am no one' Or less of a person at best Status removed, pride remains but quickly fades in bureaucratic quicksand 4 to 6 weeks in an eternity 4 to 6 weeks to wait for 20 weeks of pay at fifty-five percent of wages earned for 20 years more or less Unemployment is a populated prison. Recidivism is common Sentence varies from days to years. Monetary shackles in place, Escape is legal but challenging -3- Solitary classified gleans hope for hundreds. Making waffles or chocolate beats making Kraft dinner (the no-name kind) every night Email, fax or deliver their distressing history to the one that holds their life, and a thousand others in a file cabinet for maybe 60 days, or the cavernous waste bin for much less time than it took too apply -4- 'what do you mean I’m not qualified?' 17 years on a press, or behind a desk, behind a wheel, dedication and exemplary effort not what they’re looking for. How can piece of paper mean so much? 'what do you mean I am over qualified?' 17 years with in a classroom, behind a desk, behind a book, determined to better self they want something less How can a piece of paper mean so little? -5- For many the cycle of hopefulness, banality, despondency and back, is trying on the spouse, the family, the bank account, the spirit. Vices appear, return or consume a being. They fill a void and make the gap greater. Perhaps the habit caused the loss the spiral down. The hangover smell masked with coffee and smoke clouds the senses; even offends. Searching becomes an almost impossible chore. Many are drunk, stoned, thick, or insane. is this just a phase, a coping mechanism a telling lifestyle The opportunity will never come to them they need to discover it, discover themselves -6- So many from foreign soil searching for promise in this land that promised so much. Family left behind for the fortune that never seems to come. Biochemist security guards and convenience store doctors. become more common. These determined peoples do not settle, creating their own fortune and promise; Perseverance pays dividends. There are lessons to be learned here -7- No matter the weather, the sun is shining when they get the call. That paper version of their life meant something to someone. Before the call optimism was impossible, Now the prospects seem almost overwhelming. 'Will they like me? Will they want me?' Self-Doubt can be as crippling as self-denigration Support network in place, confidence regained Wear the right clothes, the right smile. The ones that says I am not terrified of these blank questioning faces, writing down my every word. Sometimes smiling, always nodding. 'We’ll call you.' Experience says they won’t. Optimism and desperation Say they must -8- Waiting a day is hard A week unbearable. Every call could be the one It plays like fiction when the call finally comes. Though it’s been replayed a thousand times there is elation, relief caused by a simple offer. -9- One thing sought now found. Stability slowly returns – mentally, physically, financially. But the seeker cannot stop searching, reaching higher, discovering, or the downward progression could begin again Everyone is sentenced to a lifetime searching. Embrace this truth and live We are all seekers [comments] => 2 [counter] => 158 [topic] => 31 [informant] => poet_in_waiting [notes] => [ihome] => 0 [alanguage] => english [acomm] => 0 [haspoll] => 0 [pollID] => 0 [score] => 4 [ratings] => 1 [editpoem] => 1 [associated] => [topicname] => StoryPoetry )
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