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.