Diamond mining

Her pathetic diamond disgusted me. 

I, 

had nothing going on / on my hands 

and didn’t want to fill them with metals 

But, 

the button snaps on my coat 

were once mined 

and preciousness is seen 

as that which keeps you warm, 

which she found in a ring 

How debased, corrupted 

to pull from the earth / at her expense 

this symbol of money 

to act as if love 

is mining 

Laura Paul is a writer and artist. Her book, Film Elegy, was released in October 2024 from PRROBLEM Press, and her book, Total Art, was released in November 2025 from Lavender Ink. She lives in Chicago and works at the Poetry Foundation. To find out more, visit laurapaulwriter.com.