Little hands working so fast
Tongues tainted with a glow
So much light, Ma
So much light.
The bitter taste on my lips
The bitter yearn for justice
just barely at their fingertips
Red sores blooming like painful flowers, planting roots through
failing nerves and flesh
Growths bulging from once rosey cheeks
Rosey with youth and innocence
So much light, Ma
So much light
Bones decay by day
Glowing with light in the night
Light on my clothes
Light on my skin
Light on my shoes
I can see it
But no one once questioned
I wasn't raised that way
Don't ask questions or we fall.
They all go falling.
Fallen teeth,
Fallen dreams,
Unfulfilled motherhood.
Falling with the ailing paint.
So much light, Ma
So much light.
My tongue flicked the tip
of the brush.
A pointed quota
It flashes to the dials,
To the glow of paint,
Then the dials,
Then my lips,
Back to the dials.
So much light, Ma
So much light.
Bones will glow
Into the led coffins they go
Hundreds of years past the trials
The trials of court
Trails of light
Trails of error.
Through it all, stays that light.
The damned light filled with darkness.
Infectious light
Poisonous light
Dangerous light
My bones will glow
Down six feet below
So much light, Ma
So much light.
✎ 𝐬.𝐩
Hope you guys enjoyed this short poem! For explanation, it was based on the true, yet unfathomable story of the Radium Girls. Originally a book, and developed into a movie and stage play.
Before it was known as one of the world's most dangerous substances, Radium was in mass production in the 20's and 30's. It wasn't stopped until around the mid 70's, which is scary knowing how recent that is.
Women worked as dial painters in radiation/dial painting factories and got pretty good pay, which was extremely rare back then. During those times, Radium was all the buzz. It was used for hair products, skincare products, makeup, medicines and health tonics (Radithor), and... glow in the dark paint. No one knew how harmful the chemical was.
Basically, these women painted the numbers on watches with glow in the dark paint. It was so miners could see their watches in the mines. Most of these girls were teenagers, keep in mind. They had to lick the tip of the paint brush to make a point, a sharp quota for precise work. If they didn't lick the brushes and did a sloppy job, their pay was docked.
As time went on, they would be amused that their skin was glowing. Their hair, shoes, clothes and all would literally glow. They even put in on their face for fun to have glowing patterns in the dark across their cheeks. Soon enough, these girls were ending up with loose teeth.
Alarmed, they would ask doctors, and even the company, but they blamed it on poor diet or bad hygiene. One girl's jaw rotted so bad that she couldn't eat, and she died abruptly. What did they label the cause as, you might ask? Syphilis. Girls that were complete virgins by the way, had their cause of death labeled and displayed as a result of syphilis. The company was hiding the truth, and even lied to the Department of Labor of the girl's conditions.
Most workers believed this cause, and brushed their pain off as overworking. Afterall, everyone thought that radium was extremely healthy. Women were turning out with cancer, and getting huge tumors on their faces. Still, this was passed off as syphilis by the company. One day, a girl went to her doctor about having an abundance of loose teeth. When he went to pull a tooth out, her jaw broke off in his hand.
Essentially, the body mistakes radium for calcium. The substance honeycombs your jaw and breaks down bone matter. Usually, you die then you rot. In this case, you rot then you die. These people were decomposing from the inside out. Yes, this girls jaw decayed to the point where it fully detached. This was all over the news as many girls were dying from an "unexplained cause," or in critical condition.
Scientists in modern day have exhumed some of the coffins from the graves of Radium Girls to see if their bodies still were giving off any radiation. It was discovered that their bones STILL are emitting the same levels of radiation as when they died. As radium has a half life of 16 hundred years, their bodies will remain highly radioactive for centuries. Can you imagine Hiroshima?
Their bones allegedly glow in their coffins -- which the coffins have to be led lined to absorb the radiation. When groups of girls stepped forward and spoke out against these factories, companies purposely pushed back the dates of their case trials in hopes that they'd just die before they could make it to court. Fucked up, right?
There is a very popular image that many people know of, and it's a result of using the heath tonic, Radithor. Eben Byers. He passed away in 1932.
Eben was insanely rich and would often be out traveling. At age 47, he wanted to catch a football game at Yale University. It was a long train ride back home, so he purchased a 1st class ticket for a cabin so he could sleep on bunk beds. Well in his sleep, he somehow rolled off and hurt his arm badly. For days on end, he had this pain all throughout his shoulder.
Eben visited his doctor to get checked out. While he didn't have a broken bone, the doctor prescribed him a spoonful of Radithor everyday. Eben was informed that he wouldn't only lose the pain in his arm, but also get huge boosts of energy.
Very quickly, he felt surges of energy and the pain faded away. As promised, he ended up feeling fitter, stronger even. So Eben continued taking this tonic, and consumed nearly three bottles a day, way past the prescribed amount. This was all going great until one day -- Eben's jaw fell off.
He was being checked out, and his jaw went slack. It detached from his head. Soon after, it had to be surgically removed. Turns out, Eben had drank over 300 bottles of Radithor in about 2 years. Radithor is simply radioactive water.
On his death bed, the radiation had moved to his skull, and patches of his brain were literally visible as the bone deteriorated. His body was disintegrating from the inside. He passed away very soon after.
On google, you can find a picture of Eben Byers with his jaw surgically removed. I don't want to put it here for viewer discretion, but if you're interested, look up "radithor jaw."
Radium has a dark, almost forgotten chapter in history. Radium Girls are about pushed to the side, and it's not taught anywhere hardly. I am playing Diane Roeder in our school's production of Radium Girls. Our drama program's show will even be going to state competition! I'm very excited. Most of the cast members have been researching the history of radium, as have I. If you are interested in seeing the film, its actually on Netflix.
Grace is the main character, and played by one of my close friends. You can find the real girl's obituary online, and read people's loving notes. I thank her for fighting for justice, and changing our health regulations for the better, helping literally everyone everywhere. Rest easy, pretty Grace Fryer.
