The Archaeology Did Not Mean To Oppress

The archaeology
did not mean to oppress.

It did what it could
to be fair. When faced
with the buried walls of
palaces, temples obscured
by history, all it had to offer
was interpretation flawed
because it had a starting point
and endgame predetermined,

as did the arts, the nutrition,
the design — all
wrapped in innocence
of their status as
oppressors, they simply
operated. 

The racist
canon,
the sexist couture,
the elitist diet,
the reductive archaeology

did not mean to enslave,
did not intend to erase
truth in favor of
agreement, silenced
wisdom, stunt
voices.  What they were made to do
they did faithfully, dumbly,
and well. 
It was hard for anyone
to imagine
once they were done,
except for those who
slipped through
by chance,
by hard lesson,
or by listening
to the whispers
mortared into those original,
ancient walls.