Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Socialist Sonnet No. 113

Wages

 

From slaves in chains to serfs tied to the soil,

Such was the arrangement down the ages,

Until folk were freed to work for wages,

But their lives still remained bound up with toil.

The world has become a market place, where

Nine out of ten only have labour power

To trade for life, selling it by the hour

For much less than what they produce, with spare

Value above and beyond what is paid

In salaries. Those one of ten who control

The wealth of this world would take it all

If they could as profits have to be made.

And so, by legal sleights of hand and stealth,

The wealthy extract from workers their wealth.

 

D. A.

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