Thursday, June 11, 2009

a poem and unemployment update

I am officially downgrading my husband's chances of unemployment from 99% to 91%.  This is incredibly optimistic of me.  But what the hell. It's Thursday and I'm making mojitos tonight. Go me. 

There is some negotiating going on but because we are OK living off of my income I am comfortable with him not taking a cut in pay (50 percent cut is what they first offered him) and telling them to go jump in the lake.  

I realize we are much luckier than many people in this economy.  Like the guy I heard on NPR the other day who said his family would be OK if they did blah blah blah and stopped buying paper towels.  I'm still buying paper towels so things are not so bad.

OK, here's the poem from today's The Writer's Almanac:

Horses At Midnight Without A Moon

by Jack Gilbert

Our heart wanders lost in the dark woods.
Our dream wrestles in the castle of doubt.
But there's music in us. Hope is pushed down
but the angel flies up again taking us with her.
The summer mornings begin inch by inch
while we sleep, and walk with us later
as long-legged beauty through
the dirty streets. It is no surprise
that danger and suffering surround us.
What astonishes is the singing.
We know the horses are there in the dark
meadow because we can smell them,
can hear them breathing.
Our spirit persists like a man struggling
through the frozen valley
who suddenly smells flowers
and realizes the snow is melting
out of sight on top of the mountain,
knows that spring has begun. 

"Horses At Midnight Without A Moon" by Jack Gilbert, from Refusing Heaven. © Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. 

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually, it's when we don't buy toilet paper that I know things are in the sh*tter around here.

La'Tonya Richardson said...

I think Green Girl has a point. When you can't buy tissue, you're in deep do-do!

Hey, I like your site. Can I come over and play sometimes? Only if there's toilet paper.

Lola said...

I agree with Green Girl. Especially when you have to resort to buying the Scott 1 roll in the paper wrapper. If you can't afford to buy the 4 pack, it's bad.

Anonymous said...

I just bought a roll of paper towel the other day. I did choose the generic 69 cent roll, however, just to be safe . . .

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

That poem really seems to fit the mood.

52 Faces said...

Oh wow; I hope things go your way. I was unemployed for so damn long during this recession that every job interview would leave me more stressed than not getting one in the first place. Things have FINALLY turned around for me, thank GAWD.

Tricia said...

Paper towels and tissues...that would throw me over the edge.

Great poem

the mama bird diaries said...

Keeping my fingers crossed for you.