Gawdy gold chains around the neck

Of a colorfully painted, smiling Buddha,

Dollar bills folded origami style 

And hung with hot pink pipe cleaners 

On a dusty miniature Christmas tree,

And this is the place the thieves thought to rob!

They shot the old lady in her consignment store

For twenty dollars and some tokens to the car wash.

There was really nothing more,

Except that she might 

Pick them out of a police lineup.

But hi-tech cameras across the street

On the front of the Sack and Go,

Did more than enough to identify 

The culprits, and so, when they saw themselves 

On CCTV, they plead guilty,

To avoid the death penalty they’d

Imposed on someone else.

-jenn