elites see elites
first contact assumed
emissaries & eminence
failed to consider
exiles, escapees,
transported prisoners
overlooked Terran history
left governments scrambling
to react to the unanticipated
because
when the day of first contact arrived
image building & negotiation
were set aside
in the face of a flood of refugees
escaping impressment
and while compassion & protection
are summoned
to give new visitors succor
the elites make plans
for meeting the aliens
whom the refugees flee