They said they came as honest traders,
The fair cape had pointed the way,
They said they weren’t invaders,
But yes, they wanted to stay!
The fair cape had pointed the way,
To this mysterious land of old,
Oh yes, they wanted to stay,
They stayed for the pepper and gold!
To this mysterious land of old,
They brought their soldiers and their king,
They stayed for the pepper and gold,
For the diamond goose without a wing!
They brought their soldiers and their king,
To strike peace with brutish might,
Killed the diamond goose without a wing,
When freedom came one bloody night!
They struck peace with brutish might,
Though they said they weren’t invaders!
Till freedom came one bloody night,
They said they came as honest traders!
THOUGHT PURGE 
What a great way to tell history – you did it well!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much 🙂
LikeLike
intrigued by ‘diamond goose without a wing’ – and impressed with your skilful handling of this topic
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Laura.. an indirect reference to the Kohinoor diamond, now part of the Crown jewels …
LikeLiked by 1 person
fabulous description of this contentious gem – perhaps it will gain another wing and fly home one day
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLike
A fine story told.. Mankind never learns – and so it goes on.
Anna :o]
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, the terror of colonialism will always be remembered. Even by the colonists descendants.
LikeLiked by 1 person
you’ve told a great sory in these lines. The form works so well here. Well done!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much Candy
LikeLike
A good poem. That night must have been marvelous, freedom at last. Enjoyed your words, unfortunately true for so many nations that have been lied to and made captive.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Myrna.
LikeLike
I think sometimes night come with freedom.. (or the opposite)
LikeLike
The title is already a poem to me .. gave me goose pimples whilst reading the poem. Bravo…
LikeLike
Thanks Panchali.. glad it appealed to you.
LikeLike
Nicely done.
Now I am compelled to quote Fanon 🙂
“Imperialism leaves behind germs of rot which we must clinically detect and remove from our land but from our minds as well.”
And of course, this one:
“What matters is not to know the world but to change it.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Huzaifa… absolutely right, born in a free country, it’s important to not remain a victim of its past, but to be a change agent of its future. Or just write poetry 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
The very nature of breaking traditional form – intrinsic to modern poetry – is essentially a radical act, but like human rights and social justice, radicalism too can be (and has been) coopted by the ever-vigiilant mainstream 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Perhaps that opens the door for poetry to explore a new space… a new level of consciousness and expression, far removed from self righteousness and pretty word play.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed. As far back as Lao Tsu and then the Bhakti poets some time later, dissent has kept that door open.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve captured the brutality with such a subtle irony here – and such a perfect use of form. Loved the lines: “They brought their soldiers and their king/
To strike peace with brutish might”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Claire. Appreciate your comment.
LikeLike
I knew what it was about. I guess the pepper and gold gave a clue. I’ve not attempted forms in a while, but I think I’m yet to attempt a pantoum. 🙂 Should give it a go!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, its a challenging form… the repetitions can be tricky! Looking forward to your Pantoum!
LikeLike
Mankind has an ugly greedy history and even wrongs righted hundreds of years later still stain the soil of many nations and their peoples. It is strange that Humanity as a description compared with the reality is so much the reverse and doesn’t seem to be heading in a positive direction even today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
True, greed overpowers all goodness it seems and we don’t seem to have learnt much from history overall. Thanks so much for reading.
LikeLike
Well done! I find this form particularly difficult, but you make it look easy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Audrey.. it’s tricky all right, but great fun!
LikeLike
This form underlines the message of the poem so well. (I love pantoums). They always say they come in peace, but they come with an agenda. Same thing happened to our First Nations in Canada. They are still living in a two-tiered system. It was a nice surprise to see my poem sparked one for you. Yay, that makes me smile.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much Sherry for reading my pantoum and for the inspiration !
LikeLike
Powerful words. A good read 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoyed this, I love poetry that tells a story, this was great!
LikeLiked by 1 person
the most cherished moment
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes Vandana, thank you 🙂
LikeLike
Wow…very thought provoking…beware of friends bearing gifts.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you 🙂
LikeLike
Wow! Horrors! And an amazing continuation to Sherry’s poem. The form totallly underscores the senseless cause of the pain of a captured people.
LikeLike
You have given description of the nights of Indian history very deftly…I specially love the play of the word “brutish”….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Intense and powerful, the way we convey ourselves is perhaps only found in the receiver. Interesting piece.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Alan.
LikeLike
Deception is a horrible awakening – the repetition of ‘They stayed for the pepper and gold!’ seems to reflect the conflict…and contradiction
LikeLiked by 1 person
Quite an intense & powerful piece 🙂
Well penned!
Lots of love,
Sanaa
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Sanaa 🙂
LikeLike