The pros and cons

This poem aims to reflect the almost universal embrace of over‐work culture, complaining about its negative aspects and – with some surprise – acknowledging its positive qualities.

This is a free verse poem structured in five triplets, perhaps to echo the five working days of the week. Each triplet takes a different image for work, cold water, a ship, the Minotaur, astronauts' boots, bread and gravy, and sets them against one another as the demands of working lives may be set against one another. The simplicity of the language reflects the everydayness of work itself.

The “turn” in line 12 (as with a sonnet, though this is not a sonnet) brings us to the ending, the positive, distracting aspects of work. It was not known until well into the writing and drafting process that the poem would turn in this way and celebrate both positive and negative aspects. The title followed this final turn of angle.

Having to go to work is a mixed blessing.

The poem is unique in its form, the choice of language, and the range of images chosen to represent (and exaggerate) the impact of work on people's lives.