Try working in a nonunion shop
******* on bottle tops
in August heat, begging the boss
to use the phone in his air conditioned office
to call home,
check in on Mom,
even on your own dime
at lunch time;
working on the bottom rung
among sweat-stained princes
who get to drive forklifts
because they're so much better than you,
dreaming that one day
they'll be allowed to push buttons
and throw switches, too,
which is why they don't share lunch
with the ******* who
sweep floors
and paste labels on boxes;
but the cool air
never made it out there
where any of us worked.