{"id":120,"date":"2022-08-04T13:06:02","date_gmt":"2022-08-04T17:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/artsreview-xi\/?post_type=chapter&p=120"},"modified":"2022-08-04T13:06:06","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T17:06:06","slug":"the-worlds-best-and-hardest-worker","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/artsreview-xi\/chapter\/the-worlds-best-and-hardest-worker\/","title":{"raw":"the world's best and hardest worker","rendered":"the world’s best and hardest worker"},"content":{"raw":"if human is nature, nature is barter.\r\n\r\nwe designate coincidence,\r\n\r\nthe interweaving hues blurs the boundaries:\r\n\r\none framed by windowpane,\r\n\r\none by leather stitching,\r\n\r\ngreen mimics green,\r\n\r\nboth at the mercy of the world\u2019s best and hardest workers.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nthe world\u2019s best and hardest workers\r\n\r\ntell me economics trickle down like water,\r\n\r\nbut the droughts\r\n\r\ndrained the oasis dry\r\n\r\nand my wallet remains lined\r\n\r\nwith lint instead of liquid\r\n\r\nwhile they bathe in the blue blood\r\n\r\nand the yellowing bile of regurgitated lies\r\n\r\nthat made the heated pool go green.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nI watch with disdain as the world\u2019s best and hardest worker\r\n\r\ngathers all the leaves in pinched and pilfered piles\r\n\r\nand pitches them back to the trees\r\n\r\nat competitive prices,\r\n\r\na natural-born salesman,\r\n\r\nprophet for profit\r\n\r\nmaking chlorophyllic investments\r\n\r\nand pocketing a duller shade of green.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nI walk to work where the lights stay on all day.\r\n\r\nbeyond the sand-pressed glass of the window\r\n\r\nit gets dark at dinner\r\n\r\nas the world\u2019s best and hardest worker\u2019s rocket\r\n\r\neclipses the sun.\r\n\r\nand when the great beast\r\n\r\nglides by on gilded wings,\r\n\r\nprogress tracked by cumulus jet stream,\r\n\r\nwe all want to laugh.\r\n\r\nand so we laugh, briefly,\r\n\r\nuntil we realize with jaws agape\r\n\r\nand stomachs lurched\r\n\r\nthat thing is plated with heavy gold\r\n\r\nand yet, it flies.\r\n\r\nas the sunlight reflects\r\n\r\noff the industrial Icarus\r\n\r\nand beams into my screen-strained eyes\r\n\r\nI am Gatsby,\r\n\r\nmy vision overcome with green.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nsomeday the world\u2019s best and hardest worker\r\n\r\nwill recline in an intergalactic lawn chair,\r\n\r\nsipping organic earth tree sap\r\n\r\nsiphoned from the last living specimen\r\n\r\nhe hoards in his greenhouse like wealth,\r\n\r\npreserved by his prototypical\r\n\r\ndual crypto-mining heat lamp\r\n\r\nand water embezzled from the rampant flooding\r\n\r\nof his new neighbour: Earth.\r\n\r\nI\u2019d like to be there, too,\r\n\r\ncast above in the starry sky,\r\n\r\npermanently intubated,\r\n\r\n0.38 times lighter,\r\n\r\nbut I paid my fair share of taxes\r\n\r\nand the world\u2019s best and hardest worker\u2019s, too.\r\n\r\nby the end of days they\u2019ve all gone Martian:\r\n\r\nalien green.","rendered":"

if human is nature, nature is barter.<\/p>\n

we designate coincidence,<\/p>\n

the interweaving hues blurs the boundaries:<\/p>\n

one framed by windowpane,<\/p>\n

one by leather stitching,<\/p>\n

green mimics green,<\/p>\n

both at the mercy of the world\u2019s best and hardest workers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

the world\u2019s best and hardest workers<\/p>\n

tell me economics trickle down like water,<\/p>\n

but the droughts<\/p>\n

drained the oasis dry<\/p>\n

and my wallet remains lined<\/p>\n

with lint instead of liquid<\/p>\n

while they bathe in the blue blood<\/p>\n

and the yellowing bile of regurgitated lies<\/p>\n

that made the heated pool go green.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I watch with disdain as the world\u2019s best and hardest worker<\/p>\n

gathers all the leaves in pinched and pilfered piles<\/p>\n

and pitches them back to the trees<\/p>\n

at competitive prices,<\/p>\n

a natural-born salesman,<\/p>\n

prophet for profit<\/p>\n

making chlorophyllic investments<\/p>\n

and pocketing a duller shade of green.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I walk to work where the lights stay on all day.<\/p>\n

beyond the sand-pressed glass of the window<\/p>\n

it gets dark at dinner<\/p>\n

as the world\u2019s best and hardest worker\u2019s rocket<\/p>\n

eclipses the sun.<\/p>\n

and when the great beast<\/p>\n

glides by on gilded wings,<\/p>\n

progress tracked by cumulus jet stream,<\/p>\n

we all want to laugh.<\/p>\n

and so we laugh, briefly,<\/p>\n

until we realize with jaws agape<\/p>\n

and stomachs lurched<\/p>\n

that thing is plated with heavy gold<\/p>\n

and yet, it flies.<\/p>\n

as the sunlight reflects<\/p>\n

off the industrial Icarus<\/p>\n

and beams into my screen-strained eyes<\/p>\n

I am Gatsby,<\/p>\n

my vision overcome with green.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

someday the world\u2019s best and hardest worker<\/p>\n

will recline in an intergalactic lawn chair,<\/p>\n

sipping organic earth tree sap<\/p>\n

siphoned from the last living specimen<\/p>\n

he hoards in his greenhouse like wealth,<\/p>\n

preserved by his prototypical<\/p>\n

dual crypto-mining heat lamp<\/p>\n

and water embezzled from the rampant flooding<\/p>\n

of his new neighbour: Earth.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to be there, too,<\/p>\n

cast above in the starry sky,<\/p>\n

permanently intubated,<\/p>\n

0.38 times lighter,<\/p>\n

but I paid my fair share of taxes<\/p>\n

and the world\u2019s best and hardest worker\u2019s, too.<\/p>\n

by the end of days they\u2019ve all gone Martian:<\/p>\n

alien green.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"menu_order":9,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":["abby-lacey"],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[71],"license":[],"class_list":["post-120","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","contributor-abby-lacey"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/artsreview-xi\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/artsreview-xi\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/artsreview-xi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/artsreview-xi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/78"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/artsreview-xi\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/artsreview-xi\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/120\/revisions\/121"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/artsreview-xi\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/artsreview-xi\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/120\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/artsreview-xi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/artsreview-xi\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=120"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/artsreview-xi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=120"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/artsreview-xi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}