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| Beastly work but at union wages one could get married, support a family, buy a house, save for college. |
In the great afternoon sunlight
Even this old rusty belt inner
City Cleveland had a magical
Charm about it. I drove different
Roads to the drugstore and back.
Somehow the streets were cleaner
Than usual (maybe the winds
Blew it all to Lakewood). But
It was possible to see our old
Homes as not broken down
About to fall, rather as homes
Of the modest lower classes from
Which I and many of my peers
Sprang—a little worn, some
Needing paint (pot calls kettle
Black) a repair or two—nothing
Horribly beyond redemption.
Of course, that was assuming
People living here owned their
Homes as our parents did, not
Renters barely able to make
The monthly rent. Assuming again
The people living here had jobs
That sustained whole families—
Union jobs in the steel mills or
Factories. Jobs that paid enough
To permit a wife to stay home,
Keep house, look after the kids,
Prepare meals, and still save for
A child to start college. Hear
Me through. I’m not arguing for
A return to second-class servant
Status for women. I’m pointing
Out that because of wages
Typical in those years a wife
Could have attended college had
She wished. Today however
The women in those houses
Must work, maybe two part-time
Jobs just to pay the rent even
If their husbands are present
Also working two part-time jobs.
The young couples today are
Getting fleeced. Families are
Burning out in the exhaustion
Of staying ahead of eviction.
All they need to crumble their
Shabby castles is one serious
Injury or illness—just one thing
To go wrong. I wasn’t seeing
Again the Cleveland of my
Childhood. Appearances may
Have seemed similar except
The houses today could just
As well been Hollywood fronts
Backed up by two-by-fours,
Waiting to collapse in the next
Strong gust.
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