Conditions Apply

A windowless room

Dim lighting

Machines in rows

Humming buzz

The women sew.

Materials askew

In frenzy

Threads spin

Scissors manoeuvre

Shapes of fans

Of every colour.

Officer walks

Through straight aisles

Heads bent down

Eyes averted.

Bang!

Everyone looks up

A woman falls

She was sleeping.

A month’s wage

Taken from her

The single mother

Feeding her kids

And her mother.

At her limit

In fury

She protests,

Tears streaming down.

The officer walks

Ignoring her;

The women stand.

A workers’ strike…

Protest

Higher wages

Better working conditions

Less working hours…

And reinstall wages.