Oyster Shucking - Factory Girls

In the slums of London, 11 year olds

look at the dark subdued eyes
and grubby faces of three children
not a trace of a smile detected

pretty little girls who work at
the cannery shucking oysters from
shells prised open with sharp knives

outside the factory gates
the year is 1911 the photographer
harvests hardship in monochrome

stark poverty stares back
lives drained in the same way the
photographic image is devoid of colour

smock dresses torn filthy and patched
ill fitting laced boots yet it’s their hands
those calloused little hands

wrapped in bandages knotted ties
around small gashed fingers
that hurt and cry out the most

Reviews

[Fabian G. Franklin]

It was a hard life when child labor was not only allowed but depended upon by many poverty stricken families. The children couldn't go to school because they were needed to work in the fields, the sweatshops and refineries, the canneries and the stables. Thankfully, those days are behind us and even those children are gone. But it wasn't so long ago that kids still worked all day in the fields in summer and went back to school in fall. I was one of them. I remember I couldn't wait for school to start. School meant new shoes, a few new clothes and not having to be out in the fields at dawn. But we raised our own food and mother canned and froze anything not cooked right away. When I was ten or so we finally got running water and shortly after, an indoor toilet. I thought we had suddenly got rich.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Fabian for your interesting share. Children certainly had a tough time a century ago. Thankfully it has improved a great deal, though not in all parts of the world sadly. Some way to go yet. Appreciate you stopping by.

Chris

[Poetic Beauty]

Life was very different in the early 1900s. Children did all sorts of jobs that legally aren’t allowed today.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you PB, Yes you are right. Standards have certainly changed. What we find shocking, still occurs in some parts of the world today. I hope child Labour is completely eradicated.

Chris

[Poetic Beauty]

Sadly it is not and many times it’s the only way to keep the family from starving.

[Patricia Wedel]

Oysters can form Pearls in it's Shell... keeping Well ... simple folk !!!!!! hugs, Pat

[Chris Shaw]

You have just reminded me Pat of the pearl necklace my dearest gifted me. When I wrote this poem, I was only focused on those poor little girls. Never thought of pearls in oyster shells. Hope you are both well Pat. 🌹

[W. Barrett Munn]

I feel your pain in my pain. My favorite though "harvests hardships in monochrome"

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Winston. I must admit, I was quite pleased myself with that line you picked out. All the best.

Chris

[Trace]

My, how things have changed. It seems like 100 years ago couples had lots of kids to help with the farm or go out and earn more than just their keep. Children, sadly, were expendables. This poem brings to light a small image of how unfair life was, but it also instilled a lifelong work ethics that , more than likely, was passed on to their own children.

Very nicely done.

Trace

[Chris Shaw]

Thanks kindly Trace. Yes it was a hard life. Everyone had to work. No benefits and kids had to start to contribute early. You are right about work ethic. Not so good these days. Pleased you stopped by to leave your thoughts. Take care.

Chris

[Light and ashes]

It's hard to think about children, in such conditions.
I'm sure, none of us, could imagine what they must have been going, through.
But, then, again that was the "norm," back then.

Maybe, in hindsight, we, today, are all spoiled.

[Chris Shaw]

I think children are spoiled by comparison. Poor little mites. No joy in their faces, dressed in rags, hungry and hurting. Thank you so much light and ashes for stopping by to read and review. Lovely to see you. All good wishes. A photograph touched my heart.

Chris

[Light and ashes]

Your heart is a good one.
:)) take care.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you 🌹

[Light and ashes]

Welcome ❤️

[Michael Sun Bear]

Uhoh, was not quite finished but my comments suddenly just posted. On a final note I was going to say: Keep writing and I will keep reading. You are a very interesting poet.

[Chris Shaw]

I’m not writing quite as much as I used to. My muse is sluggish at the moment. I do have over 700 poems posted here and I will try and add a few more as and when. Happy you find my work interesting. You have made my day.

Chris

[Michael Sun Bear]

Hello Chris, I am curious as to what inspired you as I doubt you were in London in 1911. Your poem had special resonance for me. I live on the outskirts of Seattle and I am very conscious of our own history. There was a time when numerous canneries in the Northwest primarily employed minority immigrants in horrible working conditions for scant pay. In 1903 a man in Seattle invented a machine that gutted and cleaned salmon. If I tell you it was manufactured and sold under the name “The Iron Chink” you will believe me when I report it put thousands of minorities out of work. I had a childhood very similar to Fabian’s but definitely not that harsh. I was certainly a child laborer, but nothing in my life ever approached the hardships those cannery workers faced. Sorry, none of this is about me. Your poem also brought up memories about the “Matchstick Girls.”

[Chris Shaw]

The inspiration Michael,was a sepia photograph I saw on the internet. The little girls turned out to be younger than eleven. The expression on the faces of these children was harrowing. They were heavy eyed had a sickly pallor and were thin. Life was so tough for them and such a contrast with the lives of young people today. That was the main inspiration, but also that I was born in London myself. Your share was interesting to read. Thank you so much.

Chris

[Eilis]

You capture the harrowing reality of so many in the past—children and adults alike. So many young people didn’t get the chance at a full life because of the burden of work on their bodies. It is a sad reality of western history and a current reality for children now in other parts of the world.

You do the topic justice here with your portrait in words. Pictures can impress the spirit of things so deeply and we are left with the weight of the image. I felt that here in your words. Compassion for others and desire to convey the pain of their existence.

It is sad to think that children had to/have to live this way. Thanks for sharing this poignant poem, Chris.

[Pete]

children mind you. emotionally charged. surely not an easy way to earn a living. unpleasant, vivid imagery that tugs at heartstrings. it's as if their lives have been shucked and their souls taken and thrown in a pile.

[Chris Shaw]

That photograph broke my heart. Their eyes were dead. We have moved on but this is still happening in some parts of the world. Thanks Pete for commenting on my efforts. Happy hols.

Chris

[Vol]

Chris,
You, too huh? When I encounter those Dickensian pictures, my reaction is the same as yours... I wonder did they get to become adults, have children and families of their own? Did they reminisce about the hard times, or did they die without any relief? Humanity has a sad history, for sure.
Vol

[Chris Shaw]

Thanks Vol. Those old photos really allow the mind to wander. I find them fascination. So many thoughts filter through. Makes me appreciate what we have now by comparison. Pleased you stopped by. All the best.

Chris