white life

All life began here by a bay
all white life that is
natives came and evolved here
over tens of thousands
but white life arrived
on boat unloaded in bays
with sticks that thundered
spitting lead and plagues
felling forests and raising huts
now these bays are glossy
slick with oils, half alive
natives have shrunk away
hidden in crevices, neutralized
white life, like germs, has multiplied
consuming the whole petri dish