Trussed Up - Packaged For Delivery (Against Human Trafficking) Poem by Seema Jayaraman
Trussed Up - Packaged For Delivery (Against Human Trafficking)
Wide eyed horror, why do you look at me
It definitely is, a human child in a cardboard
So here I am on your facebook post
Pictured a forward, could have been lost
Like a chicken all trussed up,
knees drawn high to chin
Arms tightly wrapped over shin
Brown duct taped, two tight spins
teeny patch plastered over lips
to hold my screams of terror within
You appear aghast and mortified
lifeless scrawny girl, kidnapped from poverty
Snatched from the labyrinth of humanity
You wonder what dividends ever justify
Barbarism scavenging off hapless vulnerability
Another victim marked for human slavery
So tightly bundled up, in pitch darkness I lay
Not even air through my folded limbs
Life snuffed hurriedly, In my cloistered coffin
In vain, for release from my captors I prayed
You look at my south-eastern features
Glossy long bangs, bruised cheekbones
My tears stained face, hue pale
Don’t bother fixing my nationality
Cause I could belong to all humanity
So many more like me regularly preyed
brutally abused by every hand all day
It doesn’t matter whether I died on way
My organs could revive the rich near dead
Or as a sex slave or short lived cheap labor
Lifeless, you wonder why I died
an unclaimed package in a warehouse
What scared off the pickup guy
A cop chase or a barcode crash
or maybe a customs skimmerish
that left me cold and shut eyed
Did I come through a ships folds
Or flew in through an aircraft hold
I wish I could share those stories
Had they left me enough to breathe
You wonder what I held close, in my terror
Sweet memories of lullaby in a loving home
Or last hours of torture by my bestial perpetrators
Was I from farmlands or countryside's
Or from gutters bordering suburban shanties
Had I been blessed a roof and school roll
Was I picked playing on sidewalks
Or lost the hand of a well heeled Mom
At a bustling city mall, it doesn’t matter
What could a waif do seven or eight years old
You think aloud, how I could fit
In a brown box just two feet by three
Any child an accomplished contortionist
I could have demonstrated were I alive
And with hands that wrapped me tight
I assure you I could have fitted smaller size
Blood clotted quickly, so tight my confines
you might have to break a few bones
before you straighten my limbs
Stiffened at so many joints, in rigor mortis
You pray for a miracle, my picture never seen
so you don’t have to labor a share or a pause
Cause I couldn’t belong to your relatives
Age and sex no bar, neither the color of currency
A market for free labor, organ and slavery
an unforgiving wilderness around you exists
A depravity unparalled in this world
So my story untold, a mystery for cops to unfold
A prayer is all I seek, let no child be born on earth
to line greedy pockets that sacrifice innocent births
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Copyright ©Seema Jayaraman, Mumbai 28Oct2015 All Rights Reserved
It is unbelievable that such things can happen in this day and age. I was very touched by your words. Such events need more exposure and to be written about to draw the attention of one and all to what is happening in our world. May this poem receive the exposure it needs to bring this event to the consciousness of many.
though not “perfect” (and most English-speakers’ English is NOT perfect; perhaps none are; mine isn’t) , the English is quite good for one who doesn’t use it as her exclusive language. BUT I’ll point out one error which ‘even I’ have made within the past few years. in the line: “Had they left me enough to breath” …………..”breath” should be (I believe) “breathe”. I now remember to think “if it ends in “E”, it SOUNDS like it ends in “the long vowel sound of E” and it is the verb, not the noun. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I copied this from a Google source: ‘Confusing Words Breath Definition: air that is taken in and expelled during breathing Examples: he took a deep breath and dived into the pool VS. Breathe Definition: draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs Examples: I can breathe better when the air is clean” ======================================= Perhaps some will think the girl’s death was a “blessing in disguise”, and maybe it was. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You ask for a prayer at the end of the poem, and you offer a wish in your Poet’s Note. Unfortunately I don’t think there is any god/God who cares enough or has time or energy or power enough to stop such “trade”. OR perhaps we humans do not understand that God/gods “know better than we humans do” about the situation? and, as for wishes, though I may use the word sometimes, I stopped believing in wishing many, many years ago. but it doesn’t hurt to publicize (I hope; unless it informs others of the trading opportunities available these days!) . good enough. this poem shall join others in my/our November “a showcase for PH poets”, Section D …(for poems more than 50 lines long) , which is found around # 50 in my PH list of poems. thanks, bri :)
Thank you Bri, for pointing out the spello.. Breathe is what I meant.. and wow thanks for picking this poem for your Nov showcase..
Gruesome. It is really gruesome. You shocked me out of my wits. May this not be true in a world where I pray every second all that I see and hear be just auspicious. (10)
I am sorry sir to have disturbed you thus with this poem, however this was just the anguish I felt on coming across the picture on fb.. and I hope more such anguishes will bring us all together to atleast get this crime wiped off from earth.. thanks for reading and for your review..
This poem has made me speechless. Such a heart breaking incident which proved again that only humans can be this much brutal. And still there is no end of it. You wrote it so intensely, as it leaves an impression on the heart of a reader. Very well knitted poem, beyond rating.
Thank you Sanjukta, I hope more awareness and outcry will help in focusing public outrage against this heinous crime and put a stop to it worldwide. thanks.
Your poem really heart touching.Just find no words to express - - - -Such ghastly acts are really happening.It is a shame on humanity.Yes, all goverments should unite to stop human trafficking.Your poem makes us to sit up and ponder over the issue.It is such a big issue.It has its ramification through out the world.It can happen when a society is devoid of human values.There is no love.no compassion, no sympathy.It is a collective responsibility of all people to stop it.Thanks dear poet for sharing the impressive poem.
Thank you Bharati, My intention was to provoke some serious attention to this horrible crime, the more outpourings of protest be it in form of verse or poems or through other outlets, more outrage will help arm the law enforcements to act tougher and quicker to abolish this from the world. thank you for your comments.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/27/2024 3:31:06 PM # 1.0.0.1119
Although I am aware of the evil of human trafficking, but after reading this poem I was unmoved and shocked. The poetess has described the sad story in a heart touching manner. Man is still not better than a beast. A very impressive poem that makes us thinking about the cruelty.........................10