Hugo! So here’s your name on every wall!
Deep in the Pantheon, turn in your grave,
And ask: who’s done this? Hitler! Goebbels! They’ve
Done it, the guttersnipes: Pétain, Laval,
Bonnard, Brinon: accomplished traitors all,
High on the hog. They’ve done it, and they must
Face retribution, merciless and just;
And there are not that many names at all.
These mindless and uncultured men have made
A smokescreen for their filthy escapade:
‘The fellow’s dead and gone,’ apparently.
The fellow’s dead. Yet his bequest is clear:
His legacy is signed and proven here,
Witnessed by France; we call it Liberty.