The Softest Things
A Poem
And what if today we just took it easy wore the softest of things, flowing cozy clothing
drank the sweetest drinks, teas and mochas, warm and hot watched hours and hours and hours of the do-it-yourself movie theatre that
is streaming television balanced between your tastes and mine, what if today we just said no more myths no more falsehoods
no mention of punctuality or productivity no pretense of getting things done what if today we just
stayed in and imagined it was snowing and we were trapped we could look outside and see only white and feel
justified in this home day under capitalism we would feel safe from the consequences of it all and then I realize that it takes a disaster of
sorts to excuse a day off in this system and that is almost criminally inhumane
but then again I read in the news today that four year olds were mining for mica
in Africa and here we are, you and me both, using the fruits of their child labor and here we are dressed in the softest of things made by children in
Vietnam and here we are our goods and material belongings and necessities and luxuries have traveled the world from children’s hands to ours and we
are connected in a sense that we might not want to understand we are sitting here wanting an out on all of this and
it is bigger than just us wanting this day off it is us wanting to end the things that make this all go and that require children to risk life and limb for our
convenience and comfort when none of us asked for it to be like this and yet we exist in a matrix of clear winners
and obvious losers where some of us wear the softest of things and some of us only get the rough.
Jenny Justice is a poet mom who longs to bring poetry to life in ways that spark empathy, connection, joy, and feeling. She loves writing love poems, climate change awareness poems, poems for kids, and of course, poems about poetry and poets. You can follow her on Medium and at Jenny Justice, Writer. You can support her on Patreon. You can follow her poetry at Justice Poetic.