Another Day In the Mine

ANOTHER DAY IN THE MINE by JOHN M. ARRIBAS I woke up this morning with a pain in my back From a cold wind blowing in through a crack I sleep with my little brother and he hogs the blankets What to do in winter when the temperature plummets We all live in this house my mother, father and two brothers My two sisters and two dogs sometimes there are others Time to get moving it’s a working day in the mine I’ll have bread and coffee it’ll do til lunch time My mother packs a lunch for my father and me to split We leave together its about a mile walk to the adit Down the crowded elevator to the launching level I pick up my headlight two picks and a shovel The next ten hours will be topping off trams Except for lunch eaten with unwashed hands I heard the siren thank god, its time to quit I need to clean up and get rid of dust and grit Today is payday time for a Friday night bash I’ll wash at the heath club a shower is 20 pesos, cash Stop by my house give my mother my weeks rent The rest for wine and women always totally spent Off to Paco’s Cantina with a whorehouse upstairs Everyone goes there, my father, my uncle no one cares I’ll have a few drinks dance then pick out a whore Take her upstairs pay the madam at the door I’ll spend an hour or so with a woman named Vicki Too much to drink making love was really tricky Back at the bar I caught up with my father He gave me money to take home to my mother Some of the miners were getting out of control A miner claimed a whore had stolen his roll I had seen this act several times before I finished my drink went straight out the door Another day in the mine(2) When I got home put my father’s money on the table My mother god bless her, asleep looked like an angel I pushed my brother aside and climbed aboard My father came home drunk and loud in total discord When he drinks he is vulgar, nasty and mean Drunken and rowdy he is viciously obscene He wakes my mother says he’s hungry wants food You better get moving I’m not in a good mood He’s awakened every one asleep in the house Everyone stays as quiet in fear of the souse No one wants to affront him and hear him roar My mother is crying he’s passed out on the floor When I awoke I had the same pain in my back A cold wind was blowing in through a crack I looked at my brother much younger than me The life of my father is that who I’m going to be My granny told stories about her father’s drinking That’s a least six generations with no one thinking I suddenly became panicky and realized When I looked at my father, he was me in disguise I need to escape from this worthless tradition It leads to a continuing of a losing repetition That vow was made over thirty years ago I made good on my pledge I had the nerve to go We have a family business in the city now My brothers and sisters are all part of the show Its not been easy but we are happy and free From a culture of self inflicted drudgery