How Do You Sleep?

As you rev the engine of your convertible

Have you ever thought of the blisters on the feet

Of the kids who tried to clean its windshield at a traffic light?

As you waltz under magnificent chandeliers

Do you think of the fraction of a generation

Being raised in support of lampposts all over the nation?

When you throw away half your food

Do you think of the urchins that lurk around the garbage neighborhood?

While you take measured sips of your herbal tea,

Do you think of little Raju who supports his family

Shuttling from kiosk sized shops, wearing almost nothing

Serving tea on early winter mornings?

When you show off the latest fashion

Do you think of the sweatshops and the way they are run?

When you tie the laces of your pair of black leather CK’s,

Have you ever thought of the boys who begged you to let him shine them?

As you lie down on your soft feather bed,

Have you ever thought of the youngest practitioners

Forced into the world’s oldest trade?

How do you sleep at night

When you think of all in the world that’s not right?

4/20/06