Everywhere the white man put his foot
unerringly on unwary locals he stepped
'til they became downtrodden
unable their customs to accept
physically mentally financially
from top to toe stern to stem
to his own advantage
he used abused and exploited them
no matter their culture
what floats their boat but gets my goat
Government-approved
he pushed religion down their throat
lies were spoken treaties broken
but we can't undo what they have done
and after all these years of dislocation
history has shown too little too late
reparation is no compensation
cottonmouth slithers
'gator eyes unwary prey
an untimely death
written January 3, 2022
Blue streaks on water
Draw me to the hidden shore
Brittle ice cracking.