Welcome To Monsanto Farms

The old green flatbed truck
Rumbled it's way down the smooth gravel road
Twenty people in the back
Surrounded by the three foot sides
Sitting on dusty benches
Sacks and bundles piled in between
Down the center of the truck bed
Held in place by twenty pairs of dusty footwear

I was one of those twenty people that day
And while I cannot speak for anyone else
The bundle between my feet
Held my lunch
And a book

We were almost to the farm
I could crane my neck to peer over the cab of the truck
Getting nearer and nearer
The gates of the farm grew larger
The arch above the road at the gateposts
Looking just like they always did
When I had first seen them
And read the words upon them
Almost six years ago

I had been full of hope
The words represented a future for me
And a future for the rest of the world
A better place for my children

As if I'd ever have any now

We drove through the gates
I looked back at the metal framework sign
Still arched above
But not facing me anymore
Reading in it's now backwards letters
"Welcome To Monsanto Farms"

I snorted in mirthless dark humor
"Welcome" indeed