At Length

The Weekend Before Christmas

And all was asleep except…

‘Twas the weekend before Christmas

while the moon was full.

From ship to crane in a harbor that’s full,

the port’s humming and workers are draying toys meant for stores. 

Hustling and bustling at breakneck speed 

to fulfill promises that stockings would be 

filled from toe to knee 

With merchandise we all adore.

The officials say that it’ll be months before

the backlog of goods are taken from our shores.

They blame Covid.

They blame consumers. 

They say Amazon and eBay goods are just that good,

but they can’t explain the calamity of their
logistics chain that started the year before.

There’s talk about a shortage of truckers,

But silent on why truckers aren’t paid employees.

There’s talk about a shortage of warehouse space,

But silent on workers and their lack of union needs.

They don’t talk about the shipping companies

or their avarice or greed.

A 20-foot container from China-

$20,000 it exceeds.

It’s not about the people, 

either on the Waterfront or the road.

It’s not about workers

who have worked through the fjord,

while sacrificing their lives at corona death’s door 

The world once hailed them “heroes.”

Now they are ones preferred not seen and unheard.

No one seems to know the cause or the cure.

It’s been two years of struggle

between what people need and

what some others believe for sure.

There’s conflict and no resolution;

there’s a hunger for change and courage is needed.

but no one is sure what it exactly means.

We are at a crossroads 

and the measure isn’t sure.

By whatever measure,  

we will bleed.

The time is nigh,

which side do you believe?

It’s easy to be led astray these days.

Fake news and disinformation keeps our wits at bay.

With so much information,

it is hard to be sure of the ground 

on which we stand. 

So we sit in our shelters

and think we are safe and secure.

We buy Christmas presents

and sing carols in the choir.

But after the revelry is gone,

we’ll still have to reckon

with the things not in song.

There’ll be a pause on January 6,

our darkest day we’ll recall

that it must be fixed

hoping we don’t fall for grift or tricks.

We’ll cry for  justice

But it could just get nixed.

So the full moon rises

over Port of LA

Ships are backed beyond Catalina isle 

and the most that they can say is:  

24/7, we’re working on it. 

Help is one the way.

James Preston Allen

James Preston Allen, founding publisher of the Los Angeles Harbor Areas Leading Independent Newspaper 1979- to present, is a journalist, visionary, artist and activist. Over the years Allen has championed many causes through his newspaper using his wit, common sense writing and community organizing to challenge some of the most entrenched political adversaries, powerful government agencies and corporations. Some of these include the preservation of White Point as a nature preserve, defending Angels Gate Cultural Center from being closed by the City of LA, exposing the toxic levels in fish caught inside the port, promoting and defending the Open Meetings Public Records act laws and much more. Of these editorial battles the most significant perhaps was with the Port of Los Angeles over environmental issues that started from edition number one and lasted for more than two and a half decades. The now infamous China Shipping Terminal lawsuit that derived from the conflict of saving a small promontory overlooking the harbor, known as Knoll Hill, became the turning point when the community litigants along with the NRDC won a landmark appeal for $63 million.

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