Swirling lights on ghetto-street
Where grass and weeds don’t grow
And flattened McDonald’s cups
Make scratching sounds on broken tar;
The out-of-place Mercedes sits unharmed.

Here, he sacrificed his ivory girl
On sweaty, lust-drenched stone
Behind strongly barricaded door,
“We take care of problems here, no worry…”
The fat man said, “Nothing leaves here.”

Dim-lit exchange of greenbacks –
She thought: He’s buying drugs,
And looked away to be safe;
Focusing on the dance floor
Where they circled and salivated.

Truckers and whores and cheaters
Pulled their chattel into the square
To rate her worth; to offer quiet bids.
A scuffle ensued as she was lead away
For the tour.

“Take me home,” she begged her knight, in whispers,
Clutching his arm, trembling with realization.
Ravenous wolves awaited their next course…
“I will, I will… I just want to look….” He looked.
“They wouldn’t let me in without a partner.”

Large black blocks fill the spaces between
What she remembers and what she still feels,
But she remembers asking with eye’s edge spilling, “Is it worth it?”
“Will you sacrifice me – for this?” – locked and pleading.
His silent, empty stare said, “Yes,” as he led her to the altar.

Three to manage, with iron…
Four, five, six? To watch and fill…
Three to defile with seed; above, below, behind…
One to stand aloof with glass of wine in hand;
That villainous, treasonous knight!
Swirling lights on ghetto-street
Where weeds and grass don’t grow;
Flattened McDonald’s cups
Making scratching sounds on broken tar
Was all she could think of as the chalice filled.