The first ones, religious zealots,
mad dogs cast out of Europe’s
autocratic, so-called civilization.
The worst of the worst pounced
upon the new lands, bearing
trinkets, disease and the blade
to the throat, marauding,
terrorizing, taking by brute
force or false treaty whatever
they treasured in blood and fire,
constructing a country on corpses
and altars of vicious ignorance
and blind self-righteousness.
And from them came forth howling
the descendants also hungry
for slaughter; the next generation
of haters and lovers of raw violence
here now, raging, tearing at truth
and decency like sharks to the kill,
marching on in darkness, heralding
lies as sacraments, prejudice and
death their twin gods under burning
banners of freedom with flames
and swords raised forever.