The Math Works

Last Saturday night I had the great pleasure of performing one of my spoken word pieces for Minnesota Without Poverty”s (www.mnwithoutpovery.org) statewide gathering.  There were two musicians and two other poets who performed, and it was an honor to be in such a talented group of people.  Much love to Julia Dinsmore for all her encouragement and for contending to get me on the program for this event.  It was a great night, and there were many requests for a copies of the poem and possibly other opportunities to perform.

I am delighted to report that I sent copies of the poem out to The Saint Paul Area Council of Churches (www.spacc.org), The Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless (www.mnhomelesscoalition.org), Jobs Now Coalition (www.jobsnowcoalition.org), and Senator John Marty.  So I thought I’d post the text of the poem for my internet friends too.  You’re welcome to use it too if you like, just please credit me and let me know where it’s being used.  Here it is!

The math works

$6.15 an hour for eight hours a day

$49.20 a day for five days a week

Since I can’t get overtime

$246 a week

Before taxes

Which shakes out to $870 a month

$600 for my apartment

$80 a month for bus fare

Which leaves about $50 a week for groceries

For me and my kid.

The math works.

Except my kid goes to school

$4.25 for pencils

$5.60 for a notebook

$10.75 for a calculator

$29.83 for new used clothes

$23.65 for a backpack

And it’s $75 before we’re done

But I can do this

So I walk to work in the month of September

It’s four miles, it takes over an hour

But it’s okay, because the math works.

Except that my kid gets the flu

I should have gotten her that shot

But I didn’t get home from work until late

And I was so tired

$95 for the doctor visit

So they could tell me it’s a virus

And there’s nothing they can do

I can’t miss work

So I pay my neighbor $10 a day

To check in on my kid once or twice

That’s our whole grocery budget

So I buy ten cans of chicken noodle soup

On sale for a dollar a piece

To last a week

Chicken soup is good for a sick girl anyway, right?

And that’s good, because I need the math to work.

Except that they cut my hours

Down to 35 hours a week

That’s $30 a week off my check

I swallow my panic

If I’m very careful

I cut the grocery budget by $20

And only take the bus home from work

But it’s getting colder

My coat is torn

My shoes are wearing out

There’s no way to replace them

But the math doesn’t care about that

It just works.

In December there’s Christmas

I walk the aisles of shiny toys my kid would love

I check one price tag

$34.95 for a toy?

An employee sees me touching it

“Can I help you, ma’am?”

Just looking, I say, just looking

I can’t buy anything

Because I can only work the math so hard.

In January they raise my rent

$650 a month now

I carry the notice to the office

It rattles in my shaking hand

Because I haven’t eaten enough

Because I’m exhausted

I’ve worked seven hours

And walked eight miles

And it’s 10 degrees outside

And I’m chilled down to my marrow

I try to be polite

I tell that lady with the nice hairdo and the brand new clothes

That I can’t pay an extra $50 a month

I can’t pay any extra a month

She gives me look

A look that sees my torn coat, my worn-out shoes

My shaking hands

She shrugs

there’s nothing she can do

Everything’s expensive these days.

Now I am not a crazy person

And I’m not taking any drugs

But I scream and yell at that woman

I know, I know things are expensive

But I don’t get paid any more because things are expensive

And do you understand that I can’t live if the math doesn’t work?

Math is cruel

It comes up short without any apology

I will spend my life working it

But I want better for my kid

For her, I need people to work

People to push my employer to pay me a fair wage

A living wage

People to pitch in for school supplies

People to lobby for cheaper doctor visits

People to invest in my kid, while I’m at work

So she can spend her life making the world work

Instead of just the math.