Job

My first
Job at age
Six that was
Not just a chore
Was to use a hammer
And piece of wood to pull
Nails from scrap lumber and
Straighten them by tapping on
The smooth concrete sidewalk then
Putting them in a basket until one
Day my Dad asked me if I’d like
To help paint which I eagerly
Opted for only to find my
Job was to scrape away
Old paint until at long
Last I was promoted
To sanding using
Sandpaper and
Years later at
Last to paint
Rooms or a
Tin roof in
Red and
Silver
Stripes
Using oil
Based paint
Cleaning brushes
In turpentine followed
By helping change washers
In sinks re-wire sockets and all
The handyman skills my father had
Learned as a boy plumbing to car
Repair holding a trouble light
Under an engine midnight
Madness on an obstinate
Water pump or flighty
Butterfly valve until
As an adult I fled
And hid in the
Halls of any
Academe
And so
Hired
Such
Jobs
Done but
Not by me.
There is no
Fool like an old
Fool and I was born
Old so failed to grasp
The point of do it yourself
Repairs other than saving money
Is to enjoy the work and company
A lesson I had to re-learn as a
Young man being a helper
To a carpenter while I
Taught college
Classes at
Night
Sometimes
Straight from
My day work site
Lecturing in my big
Work boots my hard hat
On my desk covered in dust
Like the books I loved so well.
The only worthwhile job
I ever had was to
Help raise my
Three sons
And enjoy
The
Company.