Did I follow Truth wherever she led, <br />And stand against the whole world for a cause, <br />And uphold the weak against the strong? <br />If I did I would be remembered among men <br />As I was known in life among the people, <br />And as I was hated and loved on earth, <br />Therefore, build no monument to me, <br />And carve no bust for me, <br />Lest, though I become not a demi-god, <br />The reality of my soul be lost, <br />So that thieves and liars, <br />Who were my enemies and destroyed me, <br />And the children of thieves and liars, <br />May claim me and affirm before my bust <br />That they stood with me in the days of my defeat. <br />Build me no monument <br />Lest my memory be perverted to the uses <br />Of lying and oppression. <br />My lovers and their children must not be dispossessed of me; <br />I would be the untarnished possession forever <br />Of those for whom I lived.<br /><br />Edgar Lee Masters<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/herman-altman/
