Damnatio Memoriae

For anyone Occupying anywhere.

A man, who long ago, had craved acclaim,

Was executed by the rich King Croesus,

For burning down his Wonder at Ephesus –

A bid for immortality by flame.

So, to deny this arsonist his fame,

The King – who built that Temple from gold pieces –

To raze this felon’s every trace, decrees this:

It would be death to all who spoke his name.

And yet we know it: Herostratus, he!

Immutable, amidst the fading smoke;

Enkindled on the scroll of History,

Still cracking his iconoclastic joke:

A name, however black, can shine through mist,

‘Tho Church and State agree it can’t exist. 

AB