Supererogative Coworkers in Hell

Because where else could they be?
They themselves am Hell. Go on,
Stay on, stay late, earn those hours.

Empires are built on the backs
Of people willing to work
On other backs with no choice,

On the backs of extraction
Systems on the backs of grass,
The lives that feed the engines.

It’s been all over the news,
Or at least in all corners
Of the U.S. media—

Many young Chinese workers
Have been making many memes
Of lying flat on their backs,

But what would Americans
Know about that? Escaping
Hell's empires, how about that?