They took all of the stolen things and put them into crates,

they emptied out the Palaces

they planned their great escapes

 

They sailed out of the bay in fleets,

they kept their ensigns hid

they knew to keep the silence just like their fathers did

 

They sailed to where they once called home

they disembarked with glee,

ingloriously now alone in silent victory

 

They disgorged their silken pockets, the treasure chests and crates,

emblazoned all the crockery, beatified their greats,

then laundered all the plunder onto sterilised estates

 

Yet all this honest robbery we claim it as our own

complicit in our snobbery disregarding those unknown,

Displaying faded fortunes that once were someones home.