LLTM: "To Be of Use"

In the book Leading Lives That Matter, I read the text "To Be of Use" by Margaret Piercy (page 199).  In it, she describes how people work, but most of it goes unnoticed.  And yet, people continue to work and completely submerge themselves in their job with hardly any recognition.  So this poem is how she appreciates those people that put their entire heart and soul into their jobs, again and again, even though they know it won't really get them anywhere.

I found this poem to be enticing on a couple of different levels.  First, I thought about the people themselves, and who i know that could be labeled as a 'workaholic', and many names came to mind.  I thought about why they completely submerge themselves in their job if they don't get recognition for it, if they don't get enjoyment out of it.  And, while I'm still struggling to have the answer make complete sense, I might have found a loose answer.  I think it's because those people feel that if they work just a little harder, if they put in just a couple more hours, maybe the problem won't come back.  Maybe the other coworker will work hard tomorrow so you can stop picking up their slack.  And so, those people "do what has to be done," as Piercy puts it.

On a deeper level, I started to think what Piercy was referring to was not the workload and dedication of those people, but instead that those people feel that while it literally is their job to do the work, they also feel that if they don't get it done, no one else will.  They feel that they are the only ones in a position to "move in a common rhythm" with the things that need to be done.  And although some of the deeds aren't fun, and are hard, time-consuming, and physically draining, they must do the "work of the world" which Piercy considers is as common as mud.  I think what she was trying to get at was that although it's not the most fun job, it needs to be done.  Just like the fields have to be harvested every fall, some deeds are dirty and it might take you a couple times to get it right because the "mud" might crumble in your hands the first few times you try, but eventually you will get the hang of it, and things will start to run smoothly again.

But what I thought was the most enticing was her last two lines in the poem/the last sentence.  "The pitcher cries for water to carry/ and a person for work that is real."  I don't know why I liked that so much, but I did.  It made me think about how a pitcher's main purpose is to carry water (even though we now use it for many other beverages).  But the point is that it's made to be functional, to be used.  And while what many people think what they want is a person who is willing to be functional, to be used, what they really need is to come across someone who is willing to be real, someone who is willing to put in the hard physical labor, and harvest the fields every fall, someone who is willing to "do what has to be done, again and again."