At What Cost Gold Poem by Jim Boone

Mined from a 9-story hole in
African mud, lifted and toted
by children whose ‘pay’ is two sack
of mud a day? High, much too high.

The producers of the gold jewelry
must listen to the ‘fair trade activists’
and stop putting it to the consumer
to know from whence the gold
in their ring or bracelet cometh – hey

traceability of jewelry is everything
in the war on human/child labor
abuse, misuse, of-greed-intent.

A 15-years young child
traveling 200 miles on foot
to live in a plastic hut all alone
and work in a gold mine in Mali
is child abuse of the worst kind

in primitive gold pits, known as
artisanal gold mines, using child
labor and dangerous processes
involving mercury to find the gold
that could wind up on your finger

a Midas touch that costs far too
much in intent and greedy mendacity
in response to high prices and higher
costs to human brothers and sisters
of the same God who created each
one of us and charged us to know and
do what is right for each other, to the
good of all concerned. Not some, ALL. 2011