Greedy Fingers

[jhameia]

I think in terms of
transnational corporations
reaching greedy fingers
across the earth;
the invisible hand
of market forces
and trending
and sales
money exchanging hands
to buy a cute thing
which we signify
with our own sentiments.

I think of the greedy fingers
across the earth
bypassing customs
and coast guards
and airports
and cargo ships
slipping into the pockets
of transnational migrant workers
replacing dignity with money.

Think commodification
I could buy my identity at the market
by pulling things together that I like
Think re-signification
All these things voided of their original meaning
for my own ill-informed opinion
to make of them
what I wish.

Smith's appropriated hands clap in slow applause
as I twirl in a dress I could not have made
from scratch; my post-industrial
education does not include
weaving--that's for factories
in countries that have been praised
for being so welcoming of partnerships
(so welcoming of lies): no one
stopped to notice whose pockets
are being lined with gold,
whose with glory,
whose with God.

(But I did make it, I did, I did,
sewed the skirts out of scrap
and the blouse from a second-hand shop,
and it will all fall into pieces
because we need to feed money
to the fashion industry.)

Ask me to open my mouth, now,
greedy fingers, curl inside my tongue
and split my mouth smiling
while rifling through my
empty pockets for spare change,
I think, and also for
identification cards and passport,
stealing it away, its new
fake document to creep across borders with,
start new markets, sell
re-constructed identities
in the name of
happiness.

Comments

[karcy.livejournal.com]

You are a very, very good poet.

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks. All that theory, it's gotta go someplace.