after Auguste Rodin

 

Connoisseurs of the smart move,

appraising the prices of commodities

and men, they stepped up against

their instincts, their futures anchored

in marriageable daughters,

the grit and astuteness of sons.

 

Their acquisitive eyes had once

been lit by the weight in tapestries

from Bruges or Ghent, the patience

entwined in filigree work or lace.

Their solid tables sustained them.

 

Stripped here to a stark decency,

they are each wearing a halter

as they shuffle beyond 

the starved confines of town.

 

Seeming defiant, one has stopped,

upright; another cowers behind him.

Without recourse, all are abject –

bound in the fellowship of those

reaching beyond their fear.