A Neocolonial Elegy

The freedom flag was raised, the anthem sung with pride, But below the mast, a darker truth did hide. For Independence was a blueprint, carefully unbound, A contract signed on hallowed, yet precarious ground. The masters left, but built a system to ensure The wealth they craved would flow out, forevermore. The Debt noose tightens, woven fine with foreign aid, A bitter gift for promises that history has betrayed. For every school and dam, a collateral demand, Tying sovereign will to a distant, lender's hand. The interest grows like jungle weeds on fertile, stolen loam, Guaranteeing that no nation ever makes it home. Behold the Multinational Leviathans arrive, With papers stamped and deals that let their ventures thrive. They carve up copper belts, they siphon oil and gold, Ignoring laws their own parliaments were bought to hold. They promise jobs and progress, a shimmering, false dawn, While the true price paid is the future that is gone. The raw resource leaves, the finished goods return, The cycle locks the fire where true economies should burn.