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Lost "Shall I Compare Thee to a Backfill Pile?"
April 27, 2000
by John W. Davis

Inspired by "Rise and Fall of Sagalassos," May/June 1995

The gathering of coins and clay
Complete the picture of that day
So long ago when, ancients say,
A city great once stood there.

Sagalossos lost in time
Once, when in its might and prime
Could offer sheaves of wheat and gold
To pay for Roman armies.

Its soldiers now are locked in clay
Painted there against the day
Their owners could reflect on when
They fought to build an empire.

Now they are gone, their city, too
And so the same for me, for you,
When someone one day our lost coins
Will gather to complete us.

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© 2000 by the Archaeological Institute of America
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