All Else Is Never Equal

The sumptuary laws return
And return like the tides, like surf.
They change, of course. Never the same

Waves assaulting an unchanged shore.
Shore’s always changing, waves always
More. Enjoy your colors, darling.

Be you never so poor, you can
Dress as brightly, as garishly
These days as you’d possibly want.

These days, the laws have other ways
Of keeping the low in their place,
Penning the low in low places,

But it’s pretty much the same. Hey,
Watch what you say, watch where you go.
All the world is a stage, and the stage

Is off-limits except to those
In costume, assigned lines and roles
Behind velvet ropes, don’t you know?