Center for the Study of Work Henry Ford Community College

First and foremost,
you must look older than your age.
We need to feel the daughter
at home, the son starting high school,
the rattle in your transmission.
If your voice sounds stressed
from too many cigarettes, too little time,
too many no-good men, that's a plus.
Work clothes only, please.

from "To All 'Miss Factory U.S.A' Contestants"
Peter Putnam

Photo by Russ Marshall

Photo courtesy of Walter P. Reuther Libary

This is about waiting,
shifting from one foot to another.
Feeling the light rain falling like mist
into your hair, blurring your vision
until you think you see your own brother
ahead of you, maybe ten places.

from Philip Levine, What Work Is