Names That Will Not Burn

In 1649, Wexford burned. A thriving Irish town-home to families who had lived there for centuries-was systematically destroyed. The churches were set on fire. The records that proved who these people were, where they came from, what they owned-all of it turned to ash.

But names, it turns out, are harder to kill than those who would destroy them ever believe.

This is a work of prose poetry spanning centuries: told from the perspective of a fictional witness to the events of the time, reflecting on what it means to survive erasure, to carry memory when all proof has been burned, to watch a family scattered across oceans and continents refuse to disappear. It is the story of the Synnott family and the sacking of Wexford-but it is also something more universal: a meditation on how history lives in us, how trauma transforms across generations, and how the simple act of remembering and telling becomes an act of defiance.

As you read, you become part of this chain of transmission. You carry forward the testimony. You become part of the story that would not be erased.

For anyone who has ever wondered what they inherit from the past, and what responsibility comes with that inheritance.

**Please note: While I have endeavored to write this in a way that isn't "graphic" it does center around a true historical event, "The Sacking of Wexford", and - although I attempted to keep it as "clean" as possible - it does invoke the violence that took place. As such, I will mark it as "mature", just in case it warrants it.**