by Justin Lee
Pullman brown packages in unbound droves
pile up and overflow from gearshift conveyors
Workers untied in the dust and surrounded by multitude
Cast demands and dreams from the shoreline
It’s easy to turn away from the lives of others
When others voice dissonance in overwhelming chorus
A union team is wrong to crave more when some have none, they say
It’s wrong to strike the company whose boss
Bears spice-swirled loaves in satin
And it’s wrong to dream when to eat and to sleep is enough
But they crave more, to change years of hardship and toil
In favor of protection. Sails leaning awry in windfall
Yet agreement stalls in a stalemate.
Beyond the water, grass grows greener, but wrong.
Justin Lee is a senior at Nevada State High School. He is the editor-in-chief for his school's newspaper, and his work has been published or is forthcoming in 3Elements Review, Blue Marble Review, Eunoia Review, and others. When he isn't writing, Justin is either sketching or eating obscene amounts of peanut butter straight from the jar.