Monday, April 5, 2010

NaPoWriMo Poem #5

Looking at tags on my shirts and pants, I often wonder about the people who made these items.  Not many of us in developed countries sew our own clothes anymore.  And while local food has become a movement, our clothing mostly comes from overseas.  Sometimes I think about how easily my children or I could have been born somewhere different, forced to toil in a garment factory for long hours.  Grateful for our circumstances, I hope for and believe in the right of education for all children.

I once read that Native Americans would thank animals who gave their lives for food, and in that spirit this poem grew.

Worlds Apart

A young girl
somewhere
far away
sewed the shirt
I wear today.

She cut the cloth.
She trimmed
each thread.
At a machine
she bent her head.

This factory worker
stitched to earn
while I read books
in school to learn
of songs and art
of maps and math.

Across the world
a different path
met this young girl
who's just like me
but may a classroom
never see.

I thank her
as I dress each day
and hope she gets
some time to play.

© Amy LV

No comments:

Post a Comment