Poem in response to Decent Work and Economic Growth
August 2018
Just One Job
By Grace Muresan

Strike! Pull back,
Strike! Pull back,
The hoe is heavy
I’m not ready
For this sort of work.
Strike! Pull back,
Strike! Pull back,
Father’s dead
And mum’s in bed
I cannot let it hurt.
Strike! Pull back,
Strike! Pull back,
My sisters cook and clean inside
By husbands’ rules they must abide
I strike with the hoe and pull aside.
Strike! Pull back,
Strike! Pull back,
Thinking of Mum will make me fast
I stare at her and then at last…
She takes her final breath
And struggles into death.
Strike! Pull back,
Strike! Pull back,
I plow the field
And finally yield
Doing the very work
That killed my father.