City state of Athens:  Policy document for the preservation of the Ship of Theseus

George Crabbe Poetry Competition 2023 – 2nd Prize

Adjudicator: Tamar Yoseloff

1  Uplift the nails.
Extract the nails one at a time, keeping the structure in place.
Melt down the metal to make ammunition to use against the demonstrators.

2  Uplift the decking.
Take up the planks one at a time, replacing each one with a replica.
Use the wood to make coffins for those killed by government troops.

3 Uplift the sails.
Take down the sails one at a time, replacing each one with a replica. 
Use the cloth to make shrouds for the dead.

4  Uplift the rigging.
Take down the masts one at a time, replacing each one with a replica.
Cut the masts into poles to make handles for the pallbearers.

5  Uplift the oars.
Take out the oars one at a time, replacing each one with a replica.	
Shape them into tools to dig the graves.

6  Consider:
Now is it still the Ship of Theseus?

7  Scrub and scour the surfaces to get rid of the memory of the abused and abandoned women:
7.1  Ariadne
7.2  Phaedra
7.3  Hippolyte
7.4  Antiope
7.5  Helen of Troy
7.6  Anaxo
7.7  Periboea
7.8  Aegle
7.9  Peregune
7.10 Xenodita

Copyright © 2023 Roger West