The new peasantry

By Joseph Farley

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The new peasantry
are having difficulty
adjusting to the dirt.
They are still used to
big houses,
and find life cramped
in wattle and daub.

Each morning they rise,
and go out into the fields,
and factories, and offices,
sowing and building,
carrying trays of coffee,
and typing briefs
for the rich.

They have been taught
to know their station,
and not to rise above
the nothing they have
become.

Politicians clink glasses
with billionaires,
and laugh about
where and how
to squeeze more
from the masses,
while the servants sigh
and tighten their belts,
knowing better
than to raise
voices in protest
or eyes above the floor.

Joseph Farley