The Barrister’s Ballade in Oompa Loompish by Kristin Garth

“So I shipped them all over here, every man, 
woman, and child in the Oompa-Loompa tribe. 
It was easy. I smuggled them over in large packing 
cases with holes in them, and they all got here safely.” 
Roald Dahl, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory 

The Oompa-Loompa finally free, we 
litigate because of TV.  Smuggled 
in luggage breathing through holes, factory 
gates, hundreds of souls, infants, old huddled 
a day.  Trafficked through customs, bribery 
paid for undocumented workers, starved,
grateful to chew a stick of gum though the 
ten others turned blue.  Discolored and scarred,
OSHA inspectors saw the dislocated jaw 
of one held captive a year tongue neon
raw, sucking a candy ball that is all 
still there.  His red-suited pygmy peons, 
television chocolate room, see my ad.
Settlement was scrumptious, cacao-clad.

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Kristin Garth is a Pushcart, Best of the Net & Rhysling nominated sonnet stalker. Her sonnets have stalked journals like Glass, Yes, Five:2:One, Luna Luna and more. She is the author of sixteen books of poetry including Pink Plastic House  (Maverick Duck Press), Crow Carriage (The Hedgehog Poetry Press), Flutter: Southern Gothic Fever Dream (TwistiT Press), The Meadow (APEP Publications) and Golden Ticket forthcoming from Roaring Junior Press.  She is the founder of Pink Plastic House a tiny journal and co-founder of Performance Anxiety, an online poetry reading series. Follow her on Twitter:  (@lolaandjolie) and her website kristingarth.com