Legacy, by Martin John

(Recycled from John Masefield’s ‘Cargoes’)

Wise Egyptian pharaoh resting in a pyramid,
sealed in a chamber with a stone block door
accompanied by amulets,
talismen and censers,
terracotta figurines and so much more.

Anglo-Saxon warrior laying in his longboat
buried in a barrow on a cold damp field
surrounded by jewellery,
drinking horns and weaponry,
ring-mail, battleaxe and gold-bossed shield.

Contaminated landfill, permanently hazardous
thrown into a quarry pit with undue haste,
polluted with asbestos,
engine oil and batteries,
truck tyres, herbicide, and nuclear waste.