TOOLBOX

an nvq (not very qualified)
level two
city n guilds
enviro-mental conversation
gcse grade d or e equivalent
apparently
grunt stuff
oink! oink!
mucking about in the muck
shivering on a cold n drizzly day
in mid january

struggling to make ends meet

on part-time wages

lashed together from four separate jobs

all well n good this student stuff
but where will it lead?
will it get ya a job?
a promotion?
more dosh?
is there any future in it?
look at the council
laying off half its conservation staff
swelling the ranks
of the long-term unemployed...
but me
i aint seeing this as a career move per se
i just had the urge to get out there
to stop talking
and start walking
to move beyond the theoretical
and actually do something useful
something hands-on and vital
dirt under the fingernails
a million miles away
from that stifling office-based environment
with its screeching phones

and its whinging ninnies

its glowing screens
and its deadening fluorescent lights
i clean and sharpen my tools
don my gloves
and get to work
cutting
lopping
snedding
sculpting out new habitats
harvesting materials
creating something meaningful
and beautiful
and all of this
adds a string to my bow
an arrow to my quiver
a tool to my box
throws another iron in my fire
and adds another poly to my math