honour history
honour it with plaques
in all kinds of precious metals
honour the battles, the soldiers
fallen and remembered
honour the wars, the roses
the valleys of it all
who surrendered, who won
honour it all in one pompous gesture, aplenty
re-erect history, put it on the walls
restore and redecorate its anthem
reinvent the glory of stained weaponry
broken fingers and jaws
advertise it as a tourist attraction
write it in gold letters
the places of history
the ghosts rising in the dusk
the winners and losers
life and death
let the trumpets creak
but
make all the suicides disappear
in the emblematic silence of history
Croque-Melpomene 