work-a definition

i bring home a pay cheque
but my children miss out on me
this is work

to put a roof over their heads
i have to make enough
to miss out on their growing up

to care for them when i'm away
i have to make enough
to pay someone else
to share in their development
and miss out on it all myself

if only i could turn it on it's head
so nurture could be seen as work
and someone would pay me
to give the special gift
that only i can give to them

then maybe
just maybe
i could give the sort of things
they are now missing out on

the pay cheque would not be
money but the gift to the community
of people who have a deep belonging
and understanding of themselves

this paper pay cheque
is a monument
to an old way of
the value of things
while we all miss out
on what's important

is this work

or subtle cruelty