Eileen Carney Hulme

Munitionettes
 
Yes I was a canary girl
who survived the accidents
the explosions, even the chemicals
didn’t poison me. For two pounds
per week, no health and safety
no goggles as we watched the slow
discoloration of hair and skin.
Long days, so very long
hard work, so very hard
and the noise, oh the constant noise
and the smells, they stayed with me, even now.
On nightshifts we would sing, laugh
in the face of death. Without us the army could not
have functioned. Later, no longer needed
we women were tossed aside.
Energised, determined, unafraid of the past, we welcomed
home husbands, fathers, sons and lovers. We no longer made
bombs, we made promises. From quiet skies we plucked
brightness, brush stroked with possibilities.