colonial revue

It's time to reexamine,
in a passing way, those wildly
colonialist boys
of yore
with their honor
and duty, their cheek
and pluck, doing stiff
upper stuff
rather well enough
to score.
By means of
their bright white
deeds, all the long lived kings
and queens used to savor
and relish the pride
in their reigns

for an age,
before.

Well now, as we now know,
their stainless swords
cutting ribbons and bows
to festoon the gift

- and a burdensome one
only theirs to bear, by steel
or by gun, only theirs
to give.
They must take it
to every land where unclaimed
lives of - well, whosoever might
yet there live, for
what time remained,

back then.

Yes. As we know now, despite
how it all worked out quite
well? Give us this much,
at least: we have,
to be fair,
to our credit,
learned. There was something
ever so slightly off,
something not quite square,
something not quite earned,

about
how it was done.

We should like to condemn
in the strongest terms.

Now then.
Let's move on.