question

in the room
professional women
their prime painted on
strung with incomes of gold
pearls
family heirlooms
carbon fractured to sparkle
clothed in animal print faux fur
bounty of the bargain hunters
silks
cashmere
hand weave acquired
the last tour of the world
and all it’s islands
bags designed by the
wealthy for the wealthy
(they know how much
a bag should contain)
rests beside the shoes
designed more for comfort
gold badged and stamped
with a Spaniard’s name

the afghani woman asks
what are you doing in my country?
where criminals and killers and drug lords rule
where women
are shot like birds
and men seek
US dollar compensation
for their loss
less than a house
and a bit more than a donkey