Production lines
on Sheila Ash (India), 09/Oct/2016 03:53, 34 days ago
Clunk, clink, squish, squash,Water pours and brushes wash.Bottle after bottle passesHeld by the neck with metal catches.Squirted disinfectant dances,Cleaning out the old and rancidSickly grey liquid droppingOnto floors, continual mopping.Up the stairs above the noiseWork the girls not the boysIn amidst the rafters shakingOffice workers count the takings.Count the yellow, Count the pinkBy their weight, their value synched.Down again and on we go,Mighty arms work to and fro,Lifting bottles, clean and sterile,In the air in shaky peril.Back and forth in unisonReady to bring the newness in.Gathered from farms across the countyIn flows nature’s white bounty.Sealed with silver or with goldA beautiful sight for a child to behold.The Milk of Life delivered daily,In the bottles splashing gaily.Nothing lost, not a dottle*,Into crates full bottles topple.Against time the line still racesTo make tomorrow’s doorstep placesTo make your breakfast porridge fullTo deliver free to me in school.© Sheila Ash, 9thOctober 2016* A dottleis the remnant of tobacco left in a pipe after smoking.https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/dottlePhoto attribution:The continuous bottling of milk at Gävle Dairy. A reportage picture for the local newspaper Gefle Dagblad from August 9, 1953.Carl Larsson, Gävle,Ref.nr: XLM_CL 009753_4https://www.flickr.com/photos/lansmuseetgavleborgashramblings