A Good Day to Work

It’s a good day to be working hard.

He rubs his hands on fabric.

Work pants, they call them.

He doesn’t have much use

for anything that doesn’t work.

His cigarette dangles at the corner

of his mouth. Like an old cowboy

on those black and white TV shows,

he likes keeping things simple.

The thump, thump, thump of a hammer

held in a hand that left behind a digit

in payment on a project paid for years ago

is all the music he needs to keep him company.

Stepping back to take a look at his work,

he notices the burn creeping over the brown

he has built up with this season’s work.

Nothing to get too concerned over,

then the neighbor-lady comes out

off to do an errand before the kids come home,

and he takes stock of his appearance

as he admires hers.

Still strong, with most of his hair,

still savvy, smarter than the young man he was.

Maybe his middle pulls on his shirt

a little more than last year.

In a voice more Romanoff than Roy Rogers

he says, “Good morning, miss. You are looking very well today.”

Doris Day’s voice answers with Rita Moreno’s smile.

“Why thank you. Though I'm more ma'am than miss.
Working on getting the house ready?”

“I’m always working,” he answers.  

Song Choice: Hard Hat and a Hammer by Alan Jackson

This poem was created for Imaginary Gardens with Real Toads Weekend Mini Challenge: Portraiture and is linked to Poets United's Poetry Pantry 481.