What the businessman said by Allison Cobb

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend December 11, 2014   What the businessman said   Allison Cobb

the business man I shook hands with drinking local whiskey at the party Christmas winter I mean non religious for the green group where his wife donates her hours bought just bought an old Victorian cheaper than a Craftsman in one of Portland’s oldest best said cost the cost of doing business one cost of doing business all of life of costs a cost the business man made exercise machines in China for the bodies of Americans to sweat upon the muscles heart and blood vessels the lungs he said they never even counted labor costs the labor lives so cheap it was the metal minerals the plastic parts they had to calculate the labor lives so cheap they didn’t even count            Copyright © 2014 by Allison Cobb. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “The ‘Craftsman’ style of architecture grew out of the British Arts and Crafts Movement, which was a reaction against the Industrial Revolution’s devaluing of workers and individual craft. It also was a reaction against the opulence of Victorian style—and aimed at making well-designed homes available for the middle class.” —Allison Cobb   Allison Cobb is the author of Green-Wood (Factory School Books, 2010). She works at Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, and lives in Portland, Oregon. Most Recent Book by Cobb   Green-Wood (Factory School Books, 2010) "The Parallel Cathedral" by Tom Sleigh "Skyscraper" by Matt Rasmussen "A Carpapalooza: An American Anthem" by Regie Cabico Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038