Imagine we spent our entire lives on the market
dedicated years of our lives to become a person
who could be paid
A person worth paying

Imagine we read books
slept little
worked cheap labour
worked unpaid
told stories about ourselves
all to be a person worth paying

Imagine the sun rose and we did not see it
because we were brushing our teeth
or sleeping
or getting dressed
or drinking a coffee with our faces to a screen

Imagine we planted ourselves in the earth
and waited for the seeds to grow so that we could
package them
sell them on shelves
and watch them expire
and then throw them away

Imagine they put us side by side
and told us you are worth
less than that one
but I will still pay you
Imagine we agreed and worked
for less and less until we could
not live on our own and we asked for more
and they said no but gave him a raise.

Imagine the rain fell but we built up so much concrete
that it had no where to go
so it went up
and we flooded ourselves and nothing grew
but the buildings
and we got paid.

Imagine the rain stopped coming
and everything started to burn
but there was a market for fire
so we sold it
and got paid.

Imagine we got paid
but some of us didn’t
and they would starve and we would feel sorry
and they would ask for help and we would say yes
but they would never get paid.

“Those are the ones who have bought the life of this world in exchange for the Hereafter”

 

Meet the Author: Basmah is a creative writer, poet, and environmentalist. Her writings are often centred not only in her personal life experiences and spirituality, but in nature, economies, and how it all relates to the self. She’s most passionate about learning how local communities can build resiliency in the time of anthropogenic climate change. You can follow her on twitter here.

A version of this piece was previously published here.