LAUNDERING GUILT

wrung and hung out to dry

On

the washing line

hangs a pair of

extravagantly embroidered turquoise culottes

purchased from a Glaswegian second hand shop

made from a nylon- polyester, micro fibre, costing well under a fiver,

emulating a texture of light, silky fleece, owned for 8 years at least.

made thousands of miles away in Cambodia,

 

i presume

by a female

production line worker

 

i imagine

her, sitting, bent over, her sewing machine,

whizzing up and down the turquoise seams,

 

i think

of all the workers

with their masked heads down, in fixed concentration,

dehydrated, sweltering without, ventilation, perhaps even immune

to the deafening whir of hundreds of mighty sounding vibrations.

 

during this mid-morning spring of breezy harmony

flaps determinedly,

a long sleeved flimsy scarlet- white striped,

viscous-cotton jersey, made in Turkey,

i wonder, did the machinist

work under extortionate pressure to meet the factory’s export quota?

 

i consider,

were these distant workers recruited & supervised, appropriately?

were they supported & unionised adequately?

paid a favourable wage…..according to their potential and age?

 

as i continue

….i realise

that these are just speculative questions

about a guilt engulfed clothing selection

on a row of gusty collisions

on a row of  perhaps’, of maybes'

of blusteringly uncertainties

of

very many

unknown histories……..

 

 

 

 

sh 06/09/2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

we seldom think about the struggles of those who make our clothes.

we try them on take them home and feel comfortable in them...never really thinking of the discomfort of the workers who made them...and yes, often it is slave labor...almost makes me want to go naked...

this resonates with me.

because i also think of this as a metaphor on how we may hang out our troubles on the line to dry, almost showing off our misfortunes and our wrinkled lives in order to get attention. And how others may see our wash, and say to themselves, why show me this? i have enough dirty laundry of my own to wash...i don't need to see yours too.

such good poetry i read from you.

thanks

jacob

[SHEEMA HUQ]

I'm always thankful for your thoughtful elaborations Jacob, good to hear from you and SEASONS GREETINGS

[jacob erin-cilberto]

hey back at ya.

[Bobbie Coelho]

This is just brilliant. I love the way you pick the items of clothing, and describing how you imagine they were made. This brings your point poignantly home.

[SHEEMA HUQ]

I am so grateful for your comment Bobbie, really motivating.

[Dean]

never saw "extortionate" before, but why not? Valid root noun to be an adjective!
:-)

[SHEEMA HUQ]

yes, I'll own up to or rectify any grammatical quibbles sir! thanks

[Marie]

Most people (myself included) don't think about where their clothing comes from. What history might there by in a pair of culottes?

[SHEEMA HUQ]

your comment indicates that the content does not resonate with you at all which is slightly discouraging. This prose is susposed to be about an incidental event which enabled me to elaborate my thoughts and concerns about the welfare of international workers.

[Marie]

I'm sorry. I have no social conscience.

[Sirius King]

very thought provoking. We never think about the history and labor behind the clothes we wear, there is a story that goes along with anything made by human hands...with labor, too many times that story is a sad one...good read and write

[SHEEMA HUQ]

Hey Serenus, I am glad you found this one interesting and cheer for your feedback.

[lee von cleef]

Me me me,the wasteful .My closet rump t***y rump t***y packed tight with the personalities I wore, the me I had to be on top of who thought what , first impressions,
no seconds, one chance world.Now I am older, broken, and I have shaken the weight of the world away, so soon one day I'll be like " the poor benighted Hindu ,who had no clothes ,so he had to make his ,skin do."

[SHEEMA HUQ]

Hey hey, I kind of like this off the wall ranting commentry phase, which you've adopted of late...fab!

[lee von cleef]

Thank you ,Just adding to the fuse you lit .

[emmajoy]

I really appreciate the thoughts behind this post, Sheema. You've created a poem around the world of overseas merchandising, briefly but clearly describring places and people. You might be speculating, you might be many things but at least you're aware. That last stanza is more than interesting, lets the reader to mull it over at leisure, something the workers don't have.

[SHEEMA HUQ]

I much appreciate your the conscious focussed, consciencious commentry Emma Joy

[emmajoy]

The content is close to my heart .. especially child labour.

[Balkaran Sidhu]

No style is odd in poetry...we call it new experiments...and this is one is certainly successful one..

[SHEEMA HUQ]

good to hear from you Balkaran, and I'm thankful for your encouragieng remarks, no doubt I shall be over to visit again soon

[Ravel Lopez]

I really enjoyed this work. Interesting and a little quirky. One thing I noticed is the personal pronoun "I" isn't capitalized, but the geographical locations are. Odd

[SHEEMA HUQ]

HI ravel, I really appreciate you remarks...a little odd & quirky was indeed the intended style of this poem, glad to meet you.