This piece was submitted by Christine Lewis, on behalf of Worker Writers, as part of the 2015 PEN World Voices Online Anthology.

Christine Lewis’s event: Say It Loud! Stories from New York’s Worker-Writers

Cotton pickin’ days ain’t over
Madam list grow, glow, grow
Light housekeeping, walk dog
Let baby be first priority

Madam list grow, glow, grow
Island woman, warm spirit, vex
Let baby be first priority
US dollar controls Manhattan east

Island woman, warm spirit, vex
Scoop shit from shitty sidewalk
US dollar controls Manhattan east
On my Tobago’s tobacco’s sunny soil

Scoop shit from shitty sidewalk
Times classified ad never spell this
On my tobacco’s Tobago’s tobacco’s sunny soil
Work never been this hard

Times classified ad never spell this
Price of migration means, “yes, ma’am”
Work never been this hard
Baby, unrelated burden, pushed along avenue dank

Price of migration means “yes, ma’am”
Light housekeeping, walk dog
Baby, unrelated burden, pushed along dank avenue
Cotton pickin’ days ain’t over.