When I peddled eggs in East Pittsburgh,
I’d meet up with many people
who worked at Westinghouse.
They greeted me like an old and trusted friend.
They’d say, “Margaret, if you tell us
those eggs are fresh, we know they’re fresh.”
I thought: It’s good to have
that kind of reputation. It’s good
to be able to look people in the face,
to shake a worker’s hand
with no need to apologize.
from “Capitalization” by Mark Nowak: poet, social critic, and instructor at Workers Justice Center. Hear the writers of WJC read at PENFest14.
