Here I lie

Here I lie, no longer flesh or even dust.
Yet here I lie, in signs that tell
That once there was a man
Like you. Who lived and laughed.

I am no less than you, for having gone,
Nor are my rights the less.
I am a man like you and ask
Only that my life is not denied.

Yet here you dig, in blind and selfish haste,
Smashing every clue but one
Because it glints a little
And feed your avaricious taste.

Now, that is all I am,
What bling within your grubby palm.
What now? What will you do
To save me from oblivion?

Take it home in secret? Make it shine?
Show it to your mates to hear their Oohs?
Claim your right to store a husk of history
And never know your history was mine?

Nigel Swift