It’s a busy day
Down in the Wish Fulfillment Centre
A vast parcel warehouse that beats the rest
Alone in metal cages they stand
A clunking, metal robot comes and
Thrusts a tower of packages at them
Better get a move on, no matter how tired
For the world needs its parcels today
9 seconds to comply
300 boxes an hour
Better get busy in the Wish Fulfillment Centre
Or electrodes strapped to the head will buzz
Zip punishing volts that jolt right through
A never-ending torrent of orders
Swamp the warehouse floor
All-seeing eyes spy on every single move
Feet swell, brains throb, hearts pound
Eyes too blurred to see with bladders full
But no need for a toilet pee
At the Wish Fulfillment Centre
Catheters and colostomy bags do that
No need to stop for food or drink
The workers have each a feeding tube
And saline drips in each arm
See! There’s no need to leave,
For they sleep, strapped into their cages
Oh joy!
It’s such a busy time,
They stagger, sweating, never stopping
For the world needs its parcels yesterday
From the Wish Fulfillment Centre
Oh! How they long to go home!
Their loved ones won’t know
If they’re alive

Or dead

They wish they were…

Written by Becky Fawcett – Hull, United Kingdom