Company store

Welcome to the home of your dreams!
Do not concern yourself with financing,
Values can only rise”, the man says
(Newton has been stood on his head.)

“Prices are ascending, do not be left out”
Cries the barker showing you a fabulous landscape rendering.
Little or no money down.
Such an irresistible offer, Hurry!

Small shacks are all that remain today.
Bulldozers measure in hours
The last remnants of the company homes
That once teemed with sandaled feet.

Built to house and cage workers for life,
Enlightened growers understood the rules
But not the workers,
Whose hands destroyed by sugar cane blade edges,
Cut the cane, drank and suffocated.

The company store was their savior,
Offering food, clothing and credit,
Creating debt far beyond wages.

A tale, that repeats itself in each generation,
Barkers change, the stores are different,
But the result, the result echo’s today.
Welcome to the company store.