Annabelle
My mom says people don’t always want
to know the truth.
She says if everyone knew the truth
about everything
In the world, no one would ever
get out of bed.
But what if knowing just a piece
of the truth
Changes one little thing that a person
does or thinks?
Like the challenge Mr. Dawe
just gave me
For our Hallowe’en info-booth
in the lobby.
This is one piece I’ve discovered
so far:
Factories in Bangladesh
are full of kids whose fingers
bleed. They sleep
on planks in dorms,
their stomachs rumbling.
Their schooling has ended,
the whole balloon
of their childhood pierced
and emptied in a flash
by a sewing machine needle
so that people like Stacey
can buy skinny jeans
that cling to their bony hips.