Long Hard Work

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It’s happened several times

The nausea

The stuffy nose

It happens to him

It creeps up slowly

And then the bad news will come

And job searching will begin again

But it always has to wait a few days

Because fever takes hold

Coughing wracks his body

Chills shake him in the night

He cannot walk

He cannot stand

He can only lie in aching pain and misery

It happens every time

It’s like his body knows it’s going to happen

That he’ll be taken to see the boss

And then he’ll leave

And never go back in again

He’ll walk out of the building

Begging with God to show him the path

He knows it’s not his fault

It’s just the darn economy

His darn boss’s stupid mistakes

The darn company’s failure

He did what he was supposed to do

And yet

Each time

This falls upon him

And I wonder if one day

He won’t be able to get back up

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