Prometheus's Legacy

There are many stories
associated with fire.
I think of Rome burning,
of Nero and his lyre.
He wasn’t an arsonist
and here is the riddle:
is it true that he watched
while playing the fiddle?
That he wasn’t to blame
there’s a strong belief;
it is said he organised
much needed relief.

I can also envision
one more conflagration,
the Great Fire of London
that caused consternation.
It started one morning
in a baker’s shop
and it took many days
for the inferno to stop.
To blow up blazing houses
seemed the only solution;
that was Samuel Pepys’s
worthwhile contribution.

It wasn’t only on buildings
the flames made their mark,
one who burned at the stake
was  Saint Joan of Arc.
Heretics and witches
suffered a similar fate;
for those so condemned
there wasn’t room for debate.
It’s Prometheus’s  fault
for stealing the fire
that society quite often
find itself in a mire.

© Luigi Pagano