The poem describes a typical day in the life of a 12-year-old child worker in 1900-1914. The child works long hours doing dangerous jobs crawling inside machines to make repairs. Though scared, he continues working to support his poor family who would suffer without his wages. After the long workday, he faces a 6 km walk home and more chores before getting little rest on the floor of his poor living conditions, hoping the coming year will bring change.