Sunday Poetry: God’s Own Angels

Welcome to Sunday Poetry.  If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday blogs here.

Tomorrow is Labor Day, first celebrated in the United States on September 5, 1882.  It became a federal holiday two years later at the urging of President Grover Cleveland, in an attempt to find common ground with organized labor after the Pullman Strike in which thirteen workers were killed as they protested low wages and sixteen hour work days.  The bill was passed unanimously (something hard to imagine these days) and signed into law just six days after the end of the strike. 

Although today most of us think of Labor Day as the official end of summer, it was clearly meant to be more.  This is our day to remember  and honor all the people who work and have worked to make our lives better.  And Good Workers, by Gary Johnson, is a wonderful tribute. 

Who will you honor tomorrow?  Who worked hard to help you achieve your own goals in life?  Who do you work to help?  I love Johnson’s image of the minimum wage home care worker who helps a man desperately in need of love and attention, and gives it without flinching.  That vision made me grateful for everyone in my life who does more than they’re asked, often without recognition. 

Remember there are no quizzes here, no right ways to read or contemplate the poem we share.  No dissecting allowed.  Just come along for the “read,” and enjoy the experience.    What line or word or thought will you carry along with you this week?  And if you’d like to tell us where the poem took you?  We’ll listen.

1 Comment

  1. Denise on September 4, 2011 at 4:35 pm

    Beautiful! Brought tears to my eyes. The whole poem struck my heart, but these last two lines, “You good worker. God’s own angels sing your praise.” are what I’ll carry with me, all week, all my life? Thanks for sharing!

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