Sweating With Blistered Hands Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

I use to care with a doing.
And a sacrifice with a giving away of talents,
To prove my sincerity with beliefs a unity...
Was not a cause but an obligation.

After years of feeling this way,
And having those same voices today say...
'Things aren't the way they use to be.
When people cared about others,
And showed a caring of loyalty that was unquestioned.'

And listening to this with a realization,
How some people like to embellish their past.
Those same people who sat on their...
Fat lapses of action.
Are still hopelessly looking for direction,
From 'someone' who agrees to do things...
The way their ancestors did.

When being accountable meant...
Following behind someone,
Who joked and laughed with them all day.
To leave others assigned to work in the fields,
Sweating with blistered hands.