Hear this, ye smashers of idols,
defacers of icons, mutilating vandals,
warring against the still present
paradoxically human polyvalent past.
Thugs at the palm cool oasis,
can you not honor these vibrant
ancient people at work and play
in the glory of Palmyra,
sanctuary from the Syrian sun.
Scimitar puritans,
why do you fear the old gods
dressed in modern shadows?
What of their echoes frightens you?
Do you need to desecrate
to consecrate your hate?
Do not disturb dust history.
Do not expunge stone memory,
Do not erase the human text.
Do not disfigure antiquity
for a nightmare posterity.
Your vicious god is not vital
for a vital god is not vicious.
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Palmyra is an oasis located in the Syrian desert containing
the ruins of a beautiful city that was a cultural and trade center
of the ancient world. In 2015 ISIS captured the city and destroyed
many of the monumental ruins.