I. a map blooms above our heads

with ships ablaze and compass wide

uncharted land still beckoning 

killer whales dive under tide

 

II. bathed in restless drive

careening west, towards gold

the able-bodied and strapping

arrive in droves to be proven bold

 

III. charred bodies in excess

ah, to be young and afraid

battlefields like votive offerings

given freely rather than paid

 

IV. what holy injustice

us, with our pale forms dancing on borrowed time

all of us ishmael 

attempt to cover our shame with dirt and grime

 

V. steel plated misery flex its suffering muscles

toward your offspring

promising grandeur 

but they turn back to their coloring

 

VI. Rows and rows of forgotten hands 

stretch upwards toward the light

Over two centuries of work outstanding

in payment shot on sight

 

VII. Impatience in a world unsecured

festers in our towers

Another term for repetition 

of mistakes made by those in power