ain't no jobs (1988)

Ain’t no jobs in Stillsville none in the greasy armpit 
Restaurants where the youth roll up their sleeves and plunge
Into the putrid dishwater and choke on the shit eating grin 
While cleaning up for the zillionaire rednecks and
Their beehived concubines who snarl for ashtrays and deposit
Their chewing gum under yer apron

Ain’t no work in the convenience store unless ya lop off
Yer hair’s golden plumes and forsake the limbs of
Yer mind to the tree cutters and even if
You get the job it means livin on money stained with the
Feces of satan where bossman hides his piggybank full

Of coke and bribery ain’t no work with the paintbrush
Unless you got her papers certifying your ability to
Mask the seams cause even  if you were to get a shot at
That job you’d probably fall off a ladder with
Paint in your eyes

Ain’t no labor opportunity in the construction sectors because
They’re being hatched prefab in mexico and korea
Out of shredded old growth complete with bedside bible
And ten gauge and even if you lucked into a shift
Here and there you’d see thru the shabbiness of the human condition
And make homes of mud

But there ain’t no positions to fill being a protector of the 
Planet tho if I could get this appointment I’d
Take a few looks at our lawnmowers and suburban sprawl and
Family dissolution which would
Be more than an unending job





1988 stillwater/lawrence