Of Needle and Red

218 million child labourers in the world

1 in 7 children around the world are child labourers

Families in poverty cannot afford to send their children to school

children grow up without basic skills and education

Every year 22,000 children die in work related accidents

Children trafficked into one form of labour may be later sold into another, as with girls from rural Nepal, who are recruited to work in carpet factories but are then trafficked into the sex industry over the border in India.

Where are you buying your Christmas presents this year?

Of Needle and Red

Father Christmas screamed

“What the f*****g hell do you think you're doing?”

elves gawped up in fright

bones shivering muscles tight

knuckles ground into white

concentrate

create,create,create

in, out, in, out, in, out........

years of hundred weight betrayal

Eyes trapped in sorrow

slaughtered fingertips blossom

while delicate minds

weave weave weave

collapsing dreams leave

pressed into unyielding cloth

sewing steadily as sun dies

cold moon brays indignation

suffering of a mighty nation

in this no win situation

Father Christmas stomps

his jowl swinging in pomp

grunting woeful utterings

as little hearts plummet

shadows cling to walls

stomach rumbles, nature calls

never dare raise a voice

or have a tiny thought

as bitter looms stress

nimble fingers with needles bleed

for greed

work was work was work

many hungry mouths to feed

a family, but no flowering seeds

older elves dispersed, some time ago

sold they heard, a virgin worth her salt

moved on, all used up

what a way to go

Unable to greet words

what is their worth

in this unforgiving, forgotten world

Push the needle in, out, in, out

shed not a tear, utter not a sound,

in, out, in, out, in,,out

not a frown as faces remain blank

mummy had no wedding dress

forget the Sunday bloody best

clumsiness, drowsiness, idleness,

were options repressed

                                valueless

aching for a moment of tenderness

from life of permanent dread

tired loom folds

while he scolds

and elves souless

journey to the inevitable end.

Breath of his exasperation

sweat of his aggravation

It had to be ready

had to be streets ahead

word to the wise

time to capitalize

on his appetising carpet

of needle and red

stock stock stock

ticking of the clock

at this rate he'd never get to bed.

He raised his fist in rage and screamed...............

“What the f*****g hell do you think you're doing?”

Reviews

[Nobody.]

it's ugly....your shoes, shirts, beads, FLAGS are being made by little children in unsafe places, in filthy living conditions and under severe mental and physical duress. I was almost arrested in China when I happened on one of these places on vacation. I began shouting and became so....outraged that I had no control over myself. If not for a friend dragging me back to our hotel kicking and screaming....I'd probably be sitting in a cell right now. I've also seen some of those young kids being 'recruited' in Africa for 'sensual arts' jobs. It's disgusting. Damn those in this world who believe it is okay! Damn them!

Great write. Reality bites hard!

[KL]

A grim representation of something that's happening under our view noses, but is largely ignored due to it being so deeply ingrained in our society. Same with famine and poverty in developing countries. You've brought these issues to light. If only awareness could stop this s**t from happening...

[Pax Analog]

You have the unusual ability to point up horrific ironies w/such aplomb as to be gallows amusing. The truth of Christmas for Halloween! Well underground Hollywood always knew every day was actually Halloween, every grinning gloss a horror mask.

No the facts aren't funny. But our species is so absurd in its order of proportionate reliable rule as to be fundamentally unsound and zombified.

I always point to the greater implementation of integral studies into as many grassroots systemic developments as possible. Ethics toe to crown is ultimately a matter of platform spiritual intelligence. The issue is the organized muscle to shrug off Machiavellian medievality, since the center of gravity of the world order is the ratiocination of religio-political-economic barbarism. Reliable cognitive integrity is the ability to link every cognitive stance to the deep tradition of Nonduality.

Everything is interwoven with everything else. Every institutionalized gloss and toleration of inhumanity is part of the problem. The ruling orders AND the prevalent beliefs of people are the problem. There is no reliably integral humanistic education and political power en masse.

The human instrumentality is far more profound that the ruling subhuman ideologies. Thinking about the plight of children in the worst areas of the world makes one want to become a silent ninja killer of those responsible.

You know, as I reread your words, it occurs to me that the child exploitation horror spiritually parallels that of any human attempting to wake up in this nightmare of Machiavellian medievality.

What a can of worms this piece opens -- its literal subject is terrible enough, but the implications extend into all areas of life, the economic terrorism of Big Capital's favoring clever reductionisms over nuanced passions in the media, for instance.

And what are the people doing? Huddling in some unsavory priest's building? "Voting" for another cynical android politico?

The beat goes on. . .

[Tina Kline]

If you want to change this situation you have to change the ruling class or the governments of the countries where these situations occur. Dumping money on the problem won't fix it, if it did this problem would have been gone long ago. Its the ruling class and the governments who are totally corrupt and take everything that is given to these poor people. On a talk show recently this topic was discussed and one of the guests asked, "If you take away the factories where will these people get their money then?" a cold and ugly fact. The corrupt governments cause these situations not people buying Christmas presents. Maybe every country around the world ought to pass laws that what is sold in a country has to be made in that country. If its made in The USA it is sold in the USA, if its made in China than it can't be sold in the USA for example. If its made in England it can't be sold in America. If its made in Mexico it can't be sold in the America. Only what is made in America can be sold in America. All countries should do this, that will stop the sweat shops for sure. This would stop it, not throwing money at the problem which doesn't change the people's living situations. Laughable, stupid, insane? So is not buying Christmas presents because they are made by Sweat Shops. I guess we could just stop buying anything then, neither choice is very realistic right now.

[BrokenJuliet]

Beautiful I understand completely you are an amazing writer and I love how you describe how cruel and unpredictable people and be. Love the wording and everything else you are truely an amazing writer with a powerful message that should be seen by the world.I'm so glad I read it.

[Devons]

An interesting and very important theme with which to deal. I can hear the indignant protestations of the xmas-lovers and their obsessive light exhibitions and day trips to the mall and the nouveau riche jaunts to Oxford Street; hear their off-hand quips and dismissive flaps of the hand as someone reads them the poem and they reply with whiny criticisms regarding the 'Bah-humbuggers!' and 'killjoys!' Yeah, that's right, we're just moaning 'cos we don't enjoy xmas the way you do... That's all.
It's the ultimate denial of the passive capitalist. It can be soothed by a tribute deposit in the charity-box or a sponsored fancy dress party for Children In Need or in the end maybe just to be kind to the environment. But you can't shop in Harrods or even Tescos without the exploitation of some poor little grease-monkey somewhere whose meagre existence is just a survival reliant entirely on the money that can be made to make the rest of the world's society a more comfortable place to live.
It's all riddled with irony and hypocrisy however way you look at it but then maybe we wouldn't be able to look at it at all if it wasn't for their existence - without them we might not all be able to afford new cars or pc's or the internet or iPhones... Without these eternal inadvertent martyrs we might even still have The Poor Law and the Workhouse.
I really like the slight double meaning of "needle and red" ...the red makes one think of blood; and I think that's appropriately brutal. It's not a flawless poem but the point is put across very well in terms of its concept. The imagery of Santa as the factory-owner and the elves as the child-slaves is a great way to get under the skin of the argument; right under where it hurts to ignore it.

[Lauren Beth]

So sad...such a strong and moving piece. Your words slap the reader in the face, waking them up to the horrid realizations that you expose here. This is a devastating truth...expertly written.

[Orlando Furioso]

Great job, full of bite. I hate all the xmas materialism anyway. The notion of the monster santa driving the elf slaves makes us see the reality behind the fantasy. As alaways fantasy allures but reality sobers. Strong poem.

[Ramiz Ilham Khan]

Living in India I have seen things that I wish never to see again. Your piece has reminded me of those unexplainable encounters that I had with people in villages while shooting for a documentary. I came across a 60 yr old man who had never seen a Train or a Railway station ever .. ever .. Because he never had the time in 60 yrs to move out of the village, because he was busy managing his kids .. because he was busy teaching the kids basic skills, so that they could work and balance the family. He had 8 kids and all of them have been working ever since they can remember.

[Peter Joseph Swanson]

I posted this on Face Book !!!

[Peter Joseph Swanson]

This needs to be repeated again and again!!!