Who keeps the flies away.

[Achebe]

My first share.
Let me know your thoughts.


Who keeps the flies away.
 
By daylight migrants work
The English countryside sweeping to and fro
Sixteen hours straight, pausing only
To return earnings to their oversized families.
Efficiency paramount
Competition tight
As their shift ends at twilight.
 
Sun down, the natives take up tools
Weaving threads through air with erratic artistry
That cannot be followed by eyes alone.
Eight hours' labour meets the natives' needs
With their modest broods
And red brick homes
Built by others; guarded by royal decree.
 
Night lengthens and winter hunts
Outside the walls where natives sleep in furs
Migrant housing stands deserted
Mud and spit no castle against the siege.
Still natives kings
In a cold dark domain
'Til their counterparts herald the summer again.

With a title like 'Bats and swallows in an English field' or something like that, the poem becomes understandable. The last three lines don't do justice to the poem, so please rewrite.
The other problem for me is 'red brick'. I can understand that some large, old medieval buildings (where bats can roost) can be built of red brick, but the expression is so often associated with small, habited houses, that it looks out of place in this poem. 'Bald brick' - suggesting age and neglect, with a bit of alliteration? 'Bare brick'? Think about it.
Otherwise, it's a beautiful little poem. Thanks for sharing.