The Blue Collar Poet
I am but a poet of simple, rigid mind,
With formal education, where hindsight isn't blind.
Sometimes I look at TRUE poets of education in the lits,
And wonder if it's true or if I'll ever fit.
For I look at other works of art and see that I'm quite plain;
I don't have the background to achieve the glory, fame.
But I am quite popular among my workers on the crew,
For my simple message just shines right on through.
I can speak in riddles, backward, or in rhymes,
But my simply worded message creates the best of times.
They are my blue-collar audience of hardworking men,
Soaking up the poetry as an honest clan.
I hope I've brought a little hope or introverted thought,
Something they can take with them that wasn't even bought.
Sometimes, when it hits with them, it's like water to and fro,
Wetting down the soil and planting seeds to grow.
Sometimes there's a snicker, sometimes there's a laugh,
But when they go quietly, I know they feel my path.
Yes, it's true I wish to master my art,
But the day my crew don't know me by my heart or my pen,
That's the day I wrap it up and truly say amen.
BLUE COLLAR MAN
Just a man of a blue collar clan,
I eat, I breathe, I'll die.
In time my life will be forgotten
like clouds drift cross the sky.
Twas a time when reason was rhyme,
when souls could not be sold.
No bad intent, what's said was meant,
one's self was self controlled.
As some grow, they begin to know
the nature of mankind.
A sneak attack, a knife in the back,
or just get left behind.
Tis foolish youth who never learns
to play deceptive games,
to see the forrest not the trees,
more pitty or more shame?
Bury deep their innocence,
let greed and lust prevail.
A thoughtful heart, horse after cart,
a formula to fail.
To be the one, one must become,
to succeed at any cost,
it takes it's toll, the price is high
to where their soul is lost.
One mans fail, another's success.
Each to their own purview.
It matters most to burdened host.
Karma is life's milieux.
The sated soul does not compete
within their own dark side.
Never to gain through others' pain,
taking lifes tides in stride.
A blue collar man content in my clan,
I have no life regrets.
A simple life, lived well, head high.
I've love and love begets.
Blue collar school,
Blue collar play,
Blue collar children,
Blue collar praise,
Blue collar words,
Blue collar phrased,
Blue collar work,
Blue collar pay,
Blue collar union,
Blue collar say,
Blue collar terraced,
Blue collar glazed,
Blue collar town,
Blue collar ways,
Blue collar nights,
Blue collar days,
Blue collar skies,
Blue collar greys.
White collar night school,
White collar college days,
White collar degree,
White collar knowledge pays,
White collar nine-to-five,
White collar maze,
White collar union,
White collar raise,
White collar semi,
White collar double glazed,
White collar mowed lawn,
White collar baize,
White collar supper time,
White collar bordelaise,
White collar children,
White collar praise,
While collar world,
White collar haze.
Blue Collar, White Collar,
Whatever we might say,
We can’t forget those Blue collar days,
We can’t change all our Blue collar ways.
Home from work everyday covered in soot and grime,
Grit in his shoes; busts his gut to earn every last dime.
Your Best Rhyming Couplet #2 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: L MILTON HANKINS
Date written: 09/29/2021
The Blue-Collar Kitchen
David J Walker
I remember the aromas of childhood
Emanating from the kitchen stove
Dad’s biscuits every morning
Mom’s fried chicken
On Sunday or the
Hash made of leftover roast
On Monday
I remember frosted cupcakes
After school
And oatmeal raisin cookies
Just out of the oven and
Waiting to cool
Before we could eat them
Don’t ruin your dinner
Mother said
We weren’t rich but
We were well fed
On a blue-collar budget
In the mid-20th century
someone like you
someone like me
we can change the world
make our difference
it's up to you and me
AP: Honorable Mention 2021
So many want only to decorate
Over life, dapple in shiny paint
From responsibility, they choose to excuse
Their delicate hands from such a bruise
They are irked, if asked to lurk
In the murk of work
They think they are owed a road
That is freely breezy
After all, it is easy
To do what is easy
To do what is hard
Takes more regard
Elbow grease ain't pretty
But you need nitty-gritty
To build a city
It is not the starry-eyed seeker of fame
Who is processing your insurance claim
Or unclogging your drains, or growing your grains
That sleek-cheeked, vainglorious movie star
Isn't down at the garage, fixing your car
Spare me the confetti and pompous flash
My admiration is for those picking up my trash
Let's cheer the truck driver and the cashier
The factories and taxis that bring jobs here
The blue-collar unions that creates careers
From lessons of concessions during depressions
A paycheck's a better bet
Than esoteric expressions.
7/06/20
The blue-collar poet writes
of life in truth
Hard work long hours
Sometimes twelve or more
Spinning brief yarns about coworkers
Neighbors and friends and what
A pain The boss is
The blue color poet
shares good times and bad
Takes you on journeys to imaginary
Lands and fanciful places
you've never been
The blue-collar poet takes you
Again and again
I am a blue-collar poet
I just got my paycheck,
when my workday was through,
saw how much was left after taxes,
I got the blue collar blues…
Maybe one day I'll go to college,
and get a white collar degree,
but by then I'll be too old,
to even go on a spending spree,
so I guess I'll have to make due
with my warehouse job for now,
at least I don't have to drive far,
or work late at night too,
I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons
of having a white collar
and making more dollars,
versus having a blue collar
and not bothering…
guess at my age I should
just be glad I have a job,
even though when I look
at my paycheck,
I feel like I've been robbed!
Blue Collar T-shirt
Don’t be unfazed and wonder
When i say i have been there
Where everyone doesn’t at a time rise
And hold their head to create chaos
And doesn’t keep minds free
To fear not to disrespect the rule of law
Nor be perturbed and be surprised
When i say i have done that what
I should not have done as we all know
No one can get perfection yet I
Stretched my hand and get tired
Instead of doing my duty in my job
But i have done one thing right
I have bought a blue collar T-shirt. .
He’s exhausted, he just doesn’t know it. Trudging on, with wet feet he wears a groove into the same old places he goes every day. His cynicism distilled by pre-dawn alarm clocks, cold floors, sore joints and blistered hands; filtered through layers of work clothes he puts on in the dark as he kisses sleeping cheeks good-bye. His mug of black coffee sits in the cup holder as the defroster competes with the radio. His body driving on auto-pilot as he does the math in his head over what gets paid come payday.
forty-four years after high school
before one can
retire and enjoy life
I recently went to court to show
a supposed voice of reason
paperwork that had been falsified
by one within his own profession;
to my "If the glove don't fit, you must acquit" surprise,
the only real voice of reason was mine -
the pristine-looking image
of a con artist, theatrical profession
had to be more important than the truth.
We tell our children to strive to become
something bigger, better, and richer;
instead, we should be telling them to
become bigger, better, and life richer
than the superficial cheaters we usually
have them look up to while they are growing up.
For "The Voice Of Reason" contest sponsored by Paula Swanson.
The work I do is not the most prestigious one,
from four to twelve thirty I drive...until my shift is done;
a forklift driver rarely takes a coffee-break,
and being courteous and helpful to customers means a lot.
My long-life dream was to be a songwriter like Andrew Lloyd Webber, but my songs
didn't click...they never made the Top Ten on the Billboard Charts;
and although they didn't sell well to make it my profession, I still hold my thumb up...
that if a famous recording artist performed them, I'd have a huge hit!
My free time is devoted to creating lyrics that I will set to music in late hours;
and I would never be a Mozart, Verdi, or Beethoven if didn't knock on doors
and expose my works to those who would be willing to listen without reluctance...
could one be old and succeed as the young ones with fresher, brighter ideas?
For now, I remain the same blue collar guy coloring more illusive dreams;
many approach me and say," Don't give up...you have plenty of chances!".
I do want to believe that and wear the deserved crown and be lauded as others...
'till my lucky day comes, I must make a living and have the faith of the achievers.
How does your part-crooked smile
Break out with such elegant style?
Subtle flaws modeled graceful and true
Like a gown woven just to fit you...
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