Caffe Ladro Espresso Bar & Bakery

2205 Queen Anne Avenue North
March 3, 1996

I've heard of a woman who works
in Amsterdam's Red Light District;
on display behind a glass window
sitting at a table above the sidewalk
looking out to the street
so she can be seen.

She can't forget why she has to do it;
a pimp, a baby, a threat of death,
a threat from immigration,
flight from civil war.

She's not aware Americans think it's grand
that health care for prostitutes is unionized in Amsterdam.
She has a soul, naive Americans, she's aware of the degradation.

I wonder how a union affects her
if she lives with her pimp
the immigration officer.

I wonder as I write poetry
behind a glass window
sitting at a table above the sidewalk
looking out to the street
so I can see.