A Memory Poem by Esther Dagan

Once, he woke up on Mount Olympus asking:
Mnemosyne, my darling wife, my love.
I am Zeus, God, the king of all gods. What are you?

My lord…Zeus…my darling love.
I am the memories. Mirroring the human experience.

Mnemosyne, my darling wife, my love.
Memories? Invisible, intangible, weightless, worthless, useless.
What are your contributions to the material world?

My lord…Zeus…my darling love.
Human memories are the sacred foundation! The roots of our past.

Mnemosyne, my darling wife, my love.
Men worship me and the best of athletes play in my honour.
Why should I care about human memories?

My lord…Zeus…my darling love.
Athletes play in your honour, yah! But, you are a myth, a muse imagination.

Mnemosyne, my darling wife, my love.
If a muse imagined me, I need to see her.
Who is she? Call her to my service.

My lord…Zeus…my darling love.
To replace her I gave you nine muses; nine daughters.

xxx

Mnemosyne, my darling wife, my love.
Nine daughters? Muses? For what? Who are they?

My lord…Zeus…my darling love, here they are:
Calliope muse for epic poetry, Clio for history, Erato for love poetry,
Euterpe for music, Melpomene for tragedy, Polyhymnia for sacred songs,
Terpschore for choral song and dance, Thalia for comedy, Urania for astronomy.

Mnemosyne, my darling wife, my love.
Since time immemorial, men went to wars, where is the muse for wars?

My lord...Zeus…my darling love.
If you want to bless the world with tolerance, harmony and peace,
Wars should be eradicated from the face of the earth.
If you need a muse for wars, the one for tragedy will serve you well.

Mnemosyne, my darling wife, my love.
In this case please call Melpomene, The Tragedy, to my service

My lord...Zeus...my darling love.
If you want only The Tragedy, you can have her!
But ignoring the other muses makes me angry.
I am leaving you forever...Adieu! ! ! Goodbye! ! !

Hey! Mnemosyne, Wait! ! ! Wait! ! ! Where do you think you are going?

I am going with my eight daughters, to the people who still value our existence.