THOUGHTS WHILE SEWING A BUTTON


In Bronx,
in highrise Home for
Hebrew Aged,

fading Jewish garment workers
sit,
      and melt senselessly into old age,  
 sit
               and rust and fall
       into frail and delicate heaps
of Jewish wreckage.

On color-coordinated wards
they sit--

retired now from sweat of pressing irons
(all rooms air-conditioned)

retired from pierced fingers of sewing machines
(no needles used for therapy pot holders)

retired forever from gnarled hands of cutting table
(cushioned now by foam pads of wheel chair)

They sit

in the picket line of their memories
confused
tired
useless
 
screaming Yiddish epithets to
               porcelain walls and Jamaican nurses.

In highrise home for
Hebrew aged
old Jewish garment workers
        sit,
wrapped in blankets,
soaking in urine,
silently planning

                   their last general strike.


1980


     


All written material © Bill Schechter, 2016
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