You can’t win ’em all,
he said when he lost his job
as manager of a small factory
that made sleds and coaster wagons.
He said, Our product does not seem
to be in demand and no one can
think of anything else we’re
good for. Like the rest of us
he had bills to pay and a family
to support and at his age the
big companies weren’t anxious
to interview him for a job.
He found work with the Park
Commission mowing grass in the
city parks. If he felt a put-down
he kept it to himself and paid
his taxes and renewed his credit
at the bank. But he asked himself,
Have I outlived my time? Am I
at fifty an anachronism?
It’s hard to accept defeat
of sleds and coaster wagons
by a day of snack bars and
the instant replay.
