Made in the USA

Used to be we made things. All the tags and

imprints said, Made in the USA. Underwear,

outerwear, footwear, eyewear, software,

hardware, here and there, everywhere,

Made in the USA.

No more, now it’s made in China, Sri Lanka,

Indonesia, Taiwan, Timbuktu anywhere but here.

Our factories are vacant and blighted, crumbling

to dust, our workers are unemployed or drive for

Uber, UPS, FedX and Amazon Prime.

Millions of hands have atrophied, are rendered

useless. Idol minds have all gone insane.

In our heyday we must have made far more

merchandise, exceeding our need. Supply, you

know, and very little or no demand.

And now that all the work has been done,

everything worth making has been made,

we find the only thing left is trouble.

We have always made trouble, We’re good at

that. There can never be enough trouble.

Where’s my goddamned cell phone? I need to call

someone and give them a piece of what’s left of

my mind. Anyone who doesn’t give a crap will do

just fine. I’ll likely get someone from India or

Pakistan who identifies himself as Bill.

                                       -30-

Chris Hanch 7-8-2020