Is There a Difference Between Men and Women

Oh the slave trade

     the arms trade

death on the high seas

     massacre in the villages

          trade in the markets

               melons mustard greens

          cloth shining   dipped in

               onion dye beet grass

          trade in the markets   fish

               oil   yams   coconuts   leaves

          of water spinach   leaves

               of pure water   cucumbers

          pickled   walking back

               and forth along the stalls

          cloth bleached to ivory

               argument from stall to stall

          disgusted and delighted

               in the market

oh the worldwide arms trade

     the trade in women’s bodies

the slave trade

     slaughter

          oranges coming in from

               the country in one

          basket on the long

               pole   coconuts in

          the other   on the

               shoulders of women

          walking   knees slightly bent

               scuffing   stumbling

          along the road   bringing

               rice into the city

          hoisting the bundles of dry

               mangrove for repair

          of the household   trade

               in the markets on

          the women’s backs and shoulders

               yams   sometimes peanuts

oh the slave trade

     the trade in the bodies of women

the worldwide unending arms trade

     everywhere man-made slaughter