Copyright 2000, Sara Zwern

The Debt   Pain-cracked, Ebony hands Have caressed Disease-ridden toilets.   Empty-stomached infants Have suckled Endlessly At worn-out breasts.   Only lint Has warmed the heads Of children sleeping Through bitter nights.   Treacherous brown Tetanus-wire Has bordered the abodes Of the "lesser" people.   The dispossessed By the millions have Mourned the blood and Bones they once called home.

The pickled remains Of cherished relations Have adorned dusty Museum shelves.   Huge, torrential rivers Have swallowed-up Brown bodies swimming Frantically for their lives.   And you who say "Life owes me nothing," What have you Done?