|
A Grim Winter
"I''m tired of roaming the streets!"
That's what the middle-aged man told the newscaster
His face was deep-lined and honest
The dark eyes hinted his frustration
Quietly he told his story
Twenty-four years ago, he arrived in Montreal from Italy
Now he had a wife and family
"I came here to live, there was work here," he explained.
"Never has it been like this. Perhaps two or three weeks
But that was all, now and again, those layoffs over the years."
Six sinking months he has been searching.....
I sat watching the late news program
Some three thousand miles away
Alone in my sheltering apartment
frightened and saddened by this story
I understood
And cared for this a fellow Canadian
Almost twenty-six
I know the feeling
"I''m tired of roaming the streets!"
Looking for jobs that are not there
It is empty and cold on the outside
and now the days wear on
and hope grows into hopelessness
Thank God for EI! But I want work!
Something to do,
to shape my days around.
Laptops tucked under their arms
You see the unemployed in the coffee shops....
In deep concentration working hovering over their laptops.
There are many ways of networking.
They approach weary empathic job counsellors
seeking opportunities.
Somedays are worse than others
Wandering along when we "spot" people who look "unemployed"
With weary anxious faces and wearing clothes
Perhaps an invisible air of desperation hovers about them
How do I look? I wonder
When friendly acquaintances are no longer friendly
and pass by us unknowing
Lifestyles falter in a shambles.
It must be terribly tough if you''re unemployed and have a family
With me, I am young, single, and still look OK, have a BA, work experience,
good health, a family back home, and a few close friends who care.
But I cringe
When people frequently say
"I can''t understand why YOU can't find a job."
Should I take responsibility for my fate?
Opportunity offers itself everyday
I read that line once in a book
I'm at wit's end questioning - almost desperate
What am I going To Do?
And winter wears into spring.....
Nancy M. MacLean has worked as a temporary secretary, and as a community worker in Vancouver's
Downtown Eastside. Her poetry helped her attain employemt since it conveyed the empathy required to work in the area.
Email: Nancy M. MacLean
Return to Table of Contents
|