Unwitting murderers

How could they know the price of their amusement?

Barefoot run the children,
But not for lack of shoes,
Plump girls kneel on the sand,
And swelter in the sun,
Hands grasping for the nearest
Plastic spade, upon which,
The legend 'Made in *****'
Bears testimony to
A thousand sweatshops.

Barefoot run the children,
Their feet are cut with glass,
Skeletal forms drag and scrape
And suffer in the heat,
Hands straining for the next
Product: a plastic spade
To imprint the legend
'Made in *****', bearing
Silent witness to
A thousand sweatshops.


N.B. For obvious reasons, I have chosen not to name the place in which the spade was made.