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.

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