from Works & Days
The news article says workers are donating their vacation time to a co-worker who is having a baby
It’s supposed to be a feel-good story about people taking care of one another
The article never asks why the workers don’t get enough time off work to have a baby
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Modern Times opens with our hero, the tramp, working in a factory
Where he faces numerous indignities
The most dehumanizing is when he’s forced to demonstrate a new eating machine
That will allow workers to work through their lunch breaks
It’s already a terrible contraption before the machine malfunctions
& sends soup into our hero’s face
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Has Amazon created an eating machine for its warehouse employees yet?
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One year when I visited the city I grew up in
I went to a diner with friends from high school
They asked me what I was doing for work
& I told them whatever ridiculous title I had at my office job
“So you’re a pencil pusher,” they said
At the end of the day, there wasn’t a product to show
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I told the visiting writer I wasn’t writing anymore
She teased, “I guess you’ve said everything you need to say”
Another time, I was the visiting writer
And a student asked, “What does not writing look like to you?”
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It turns out when I “wasn’t writing”
I still filled notebooks with words
But I didn’t think it counted
Because there wasn’t a product to show
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At work all staff members received an email telling them they’re disposable
It said, “Always be aware that there is someone else who could do your job”
This was supposed to be motivational, inspire us to take pride in our work & do our best
They haven’t given us raises in three years
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My boss emailed the department a TED Talk on gratitude
She wanted us to feel grateful for our shitty jobs
When 40% of the staff was laid off yesterday
She suggested we have morning meditation sessions
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What happens to work of imagination
When my imagination feels dull & slow
When I am tired from the work day
When I have been busy working at work
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Another time at work I attended an employee wellness event on financial planning and debt
It was sponsored by a bank and they said to pay down debt we should get second jobs
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The bankers told us another way to alleviate debt is to monetize your hobbies
Recently after a reading, I found myself telling another poet that poetry is more like a hobby for me
I didn’t really mean it
And if I did, I still don’t know how to monetize it
I don’t want to monetize my life
Gina Myers
Gina Myers is the author of A Model Year (2009), Hold It Down (2013), and Some of the Times (forthcoming from Barrelhouse in 2020). Originally from Saginaw, Michigan, she now lives in Philadelphia.