Whoopee Cushion
This here 99 cent toy
I can’t possibly enjoy
All I can think, am I vain?
Is how bleeding hands make it stained.
Every ornate stone placed was handmade
Blood and fingernails adorn,
Each wall of the themed bistro
Where you get your proteins filleted.
But do those cut hands enjoy,
Love and life and another day?
Are scraped bodies coming home
To feed hungry mouths and hearts?
For now, I should like to believe
That my one tenth of a tenth
Of a one tenth of a cent,
May be some type of international aid.
Because I’ll tell you what-
If I don’t, I shall surely go insane.
To think that children’s lives are staid
In a room where my stuff is made.
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I really enjoyed your poem "Whoopee Cushion." I was confused during my first read until I hit the final stanza and the speaker says "I shall surely go insane./To think that children's lives are staid/In a room where my stuff is made." I enjoyed the rhymed couplet at the end, setting these lines apart from the rest. Also, these final lines offer resolution to the confusion of why this seemingly innocent child's toy is actually the product of hard child labor. This toy, that children should be playing with, is the reason that they are unable to enjoy their youth; working day in and day out in a sweat shop. The peom has a nice voice and the speaker seems concerned with her impact on the world, which makes her relatable. Overall, I really enjoyed the poem.
ReplyDeleteBy looking at your title one would never assume that your poem would have such a forlorn tone. I absolutely loved it. The things we use on a daily basis are made by the sweat and blood of others. The poem promotes awareness in an otherwise oblivious world. Remindes me of Browning's "The Cry of the Children."
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