Damnatio Memoriae: The Child's Name
by Genevieve Petty

Her name was Chester
And I always go back for her
She has all the happy nostalgia

Okay, it wasn't really Chester
Chester was the cat in Howliday Inn
Chester was a nickname
It was hers every summer at Girl Scout Camp

At school people called her Genny or Genny-Beth
She hated the sound of Genny
She hated everything it was
Everything it stood for
Everything it represented

The things that happened when she was Genny

When she moved to Mundfordville
She killed Genny
Got rid of her for good
She told people to call her Arcee
Like the Transformer

She wasn't going to be Genny anymore
She was going to be someone else

Back before she killed Genny
When she used to hear it all the time
And stuff would happen
She used to try to convince herself she was really a dragon
An immortal, invulnerable dragon with five heads
Who could never be touched
Never be hurt

She almost succeeded
She almost believed it

Genny is broken
Damnatio
Statues smashed
Inscriptions erased
Memories repressed
Almost forgotten, almost lost

I go back for Chester
For the happiness in childhood
For Edmonson, for camp
For pleasant memories
For Chester, who belonged somewhere

For Chester, who mattered