Folks hang out in Capitola
on a hot summer day,
strawberry ice cream and smoothies
briefly cool the senses.

Further down the coast
Watsonville, strawberry fields
stretching in all directions,
miles and miles of fresas
so delicate as to only be picked by hand.

People…  Brown people
their backs bent
pick quickly, row after row
under the scorching sun.
Essential workers
wearing face masks
to keep Covid at bay.

Speed and quantity
reflected in paychecks.
White people don’t apply
for this back breaking
low paying work
done by immigrants

Three days later
California burns.
With fields engulfed in smoke
farm workers bend over
hour after hour
picking and filling boxes.
The harvest season is short
time is of the essence. 

Where do all the strawberries come from?
May we remember and offer thanks to those who pick them.

https://www.capradio.org/articles/2019/10/19/this-trump-rule-change-will-mean-lower-wages-for-farmworkers/