They took it

They took the open land
They said
Scrub and thorns
That hurt your feet
Are not going to help
You need to be productive
They took our open land

They took the trees
They said
Wood is necessary for economic purposes
Do not leave it idle
Cut it down
They took our trees

They took the forests
They said
Land is scarce
How do we grow you food?
We need more land
They took our forests

They took the homes
They said
Transport is necessary for economic prosperity
We need a station
A terminus here
They took our homes

And as they took and took
Promising their economic prosperity
We gave and gave
Hoping it would come soon
But we got no happiness

Until finally

They took the lives
They said
Scrub and thorns
Won't hurt your feet
Go work in the mines
Do not be idle
They took our lives

(with inputs from Upaasana Karthik)