they stirred no air nor any sound did they make
they left no prints and raised no dust in their wake
in suits cut by expert hands and kept spotless
and which showed no stain, wrinkle, or tear
each unto himself a fortress
indomitable on silent nightmares
they covered every inch of the earth on horses
whose coats gleamed with immaculate grooming
the embodiments of unstoppable forces
their shadow over doomed lands looming
they gave no warning of their imminent arrival
galloping across the earth with a soundless tattoo
man had proven himself unworthy of survival
and they'd come to give him what he was due
their coat buttons polished to the highest shine
their fingernails and hair trimmed and cropped to perfection
they had returned once again to punctuate time
and destroy life to facilitate its own resurrection
every land bore the mark of their having visited
and man had gotten his reminder that his time had always been limited
in place of hoofprints they left behind greed
which could only see want and was blind to prosperity
and concentrated man's wealth into hands with least need
by the irresistible force of military gravity
thus there was domination behind which crawled hunger
on bony knees into lands it had left weakened
in their numbers the hungry summoned the death bringer
calling her forth to their mighty beacon
greed had taken other forms besides substantiating
in illusory want which behind it dragged following
the bullying, battery, and burglary of nations
that reduced a proud species to a wretched lot cowering
that was a greed that might have been sustained
but it couldn't keep satisfied its ever-growing appetite
it devoured all things in a voracious campaign
then sat gnawing the bare earth glinting in the sunlight
man hadn't merely made his home unsightly
by mining its bases hollow for their glitter and gilt
he'd reduced to rubble and dust the once mighty
pillars on which he'd so confidently built
into his world along crumbling pillars
on her putrid belly smirking death slithered
once all of man's riches had been wrapped up and sold
it dawned on him that he had nothing to eat
he tried to learn how to live on gold
but his mastery over nature wasn't quite complete
so here again arose bloody war and domination
and uncounted things left destitute
dying, all gazed on him with fascination
who could imagine such a shameless prostitute?
now man was trapped like a rat unable to flee
the ship he'd scuppered for the wood of its planks
as he pawed through the splinters and debris
the ship he knew was unsinkable sank
the horsemen paused to carve another notch
to celebrate their work then geed up each horse
and each set an alert for the next job on his watch
which were of solid gold and swiss design, of course
congratulating each other on a job well done
they waved good bye to the earth that now stinketh
and raced back whence they'd come
confident that she was now stronger in death