Birthright

My great-grandfather drug trees

Down green forrest beds

And later lay rails

Across middle America

My other great grandfather

Baked in New York

Sweltering ovens

And a fat, worn face

My grandfather welded fences

That still stand in New York City

And gave himself a heart attack

My other grandfather dodged bullets

Until one stuck in his skin

Which he carried around while he

Fixed cars for the rest of his life

Which gave him a heart attack

My own father was a carpenter

And a welder

And a chassis and forklift mechanic

Not all were union men

But all worked under the gun

I myself work construction

As a stock and trade

Looking back across the generations

They would all have choked me

For giving up a position teaching

And will likely choke me still

Even if this writing earns me money

For being less of a man

I respect that.

I have failed them, to a man.

I apologize.