She walks among plates of beauty,
etched with details of passion,
molded with distortions of reality.
Sheets of artwork
displayed for purchase lay
before her, behind her, and beside her.
She steps, focusing one by one on colors —
glorious, dark, or blended
to capture hearts.
Seductive textures tease,
extending pleas from lithographs
that silently beg
to be carried to a distant place.
They desire her more
than she craves them.
She weighs her empty wallet,
tries to explain.
She looks for the door
the exit to escape.