RIC S. BASTASA

here comes anna
she is from another far mountain
she arrives with just
one dress
no slippers
no deodorant
she smells like a
dead bird
but what can you do?
she is your new house-help
and you
do not do household chores
she now belongs
to you
for a meager pay
she will do everything
washing, cooking, cleaning
even massaging
your feet and hair
at your convenience
always

i am your husband
and i look at her
with pity

here is another
hope
a toast
that someone from the mountain
can make it
big sometime
somewhere

and you shall be
its stepping stone

i dread
how unequal things
can be
how fields
are not leveled
fairly
for all the
players
in this world