The Whispers of Work prompt jumped out at me because one of my favorite poems is Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” and one of my favorite poetry collections, to which I frequently return, is Jennifer Fitzgerald’s The Art of Work, and it so happens that my grandfather was an elevator operator. When I saw elevator operator on the list of extinct professions, I realized this was a poem for me.
I did some research about elevators in the 1940s–which is a change for me since I consider myself a lazy poet and rarely look things up. I was fascinated. I created stanzas following grammar and geography, and then I went back and added elevator-language to create authenticity.
The Up and The Down
He ran the elevator.
It was a job. It came with
a salary and a seat for when
standing got tough.
In the Garment District,
he gave vertical rides to folks
interested in fabrics.
Out in Iowa
they used one of the smallest elevators
Tillotson built, mostly for storage of grain.
Down in Texas
they used the largest (of course).
These were orphan plans, one-offs
to suit bushel capacity and silo nee\ds.
Back in New York
after being pushed towards the Tenderloin,
he found family among the textile crowd.
His arms gained strength over the years
all that manual opening and closing
of doors, the protective inner and ornate
iron outer. He controlled the speed,
controlled direction, announced each
floor upon arrival.
The strike froze the city
but only for a moment
when everyone realized the marvel—
the shaft, the car, the rails,
the cables, the pulleys—
the convenience had become.
Up and down all day, only
sometimes taking a seat, is
how he spent the days with
only one exception—when
the men in suits arrived,
suggested he go get lunch,
and he did
because the salary and the seat
and the chance to walk home
before sundown were the dream
becoming reality every working day.
Christina M. Rau, The Yoga Poet, leads Meditate, Move, & Create workshops for various organizations worldwide. Her collections include How We Make Amends and the Elgin Award-winning Liberating The Astronauts. She moderates the Women’s Poetry Listserv and has served as Poet in Residence for Oceanside Library (NY) since 2020.During her downtime, she watches the Game Show Network.
http://www.christinamrau.com
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