DON'T WORK, YOU DON'T EAT

by, William O. Johnson

"Don't work, you don't eat."
I've heard this all of my life
and now that I'm a parent
this statement I recite.

My brothers and sisters all worked,
we had chores to do each day
and if we did not complete them
our parents would always say,
"Don't work, you don't eat!"

I never really understood
why they said this all of the time,
but they did not want us to be lazy,
and think that life was a free ride.

"Don't work, you don't eat."
I could hear it in my sleep,
and now that I am older
this statement I repeat,
"Don't work, you don't eat."

I see people on the job trying to get over,
others make up lame excuses
so they can leave early for the day,
and each and every time this occurs
I hear my parents say,
"If you don't work, you don't eat."

This lesson will carry you the rest of your life
and I must say, it has stuck with me
until this very day
I MUST WORK, BECAUSE I MUST EAT.