Poem: "The Erasure of Unemployment"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem came out of the March 3, 2015 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from Shirley Barrette. It has been sponsored by janetmiles.


"The Erasure of Unemployment"


The loss of a job is
also the loss of self --
tossed away, discarded,
abandoned on a shelf.

Nothing is left secure,
and nothing still feels safe --
not home or friends or food --
those losses have to chafe.

It is no small thing when
jobs define who we are --
losing one's the worst thing
that can happen, by far.

* * *

Notes:

Unemployment shuts people out of society and ravages their sense of self-worth.  There are tips for maintaining self-esteem during unemployment.

Comments

[brushwolf]

Huh. The article you linked is interesting, but "get involved in unemployed organizations" is really interesting and less detailed. Would you have any thoughts about who might qualify for that?

[calissa]

This really speaks to my experience. Thank you for sharing it.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

I have struggled SO LONG with my burnout and underemployment and unemployment. And what am i, if i dont have a job, what do i call myself when someone asks me "what do you do?"

And at that i am one of the lucky ones, i have a loving partner who pays the bills. I have financial security but not existential security, if that makes any sense...

Finding a sense of self worth has been horribly difficult.

Thanks for this. Brief but pointed, as some tools are.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

I wonder if people who are voluntarily out of jobs (retired, gone back to school) go through this same sense of loss, or if some do and some don't.

It seems for Dale it's been a mix of him really having to work to separate his identity from the store, and also coming back to himself with all the things that work suppressed (e.g., creativity).

Nice poem,

[dhyvd.livejournal.com]

I was having a discussion about this a few years ago....

One thing I gained is an awareness that you can redefine yourself by other means, rather than by your current job or lack thereof.

Also, this might be another helpful site: http://www.GetRichSlowly.org/

but I only came across it today.

Over the years, the three most helpful books on work have prob. been.

"The Magic of Thinking Big"
"Rich Dad, Poor Dad"
"Think, and Grow Rich"

Offhand. I'll write a short article on it when I have more time-energy.