Read the Room

Ur-Nanshe, apparently,
Understood what rhetoric
And writing are truly for.

Sure, you can write for mortals.
You can boast your kingly deeds
On stelae for all to see.

But given his inscriptions
Stayed in temples, in secret
Places mostly, it’s been said,

The audience he addressed,
The readers he had in mind,
Were strictly immortal gods,

Those ideal readers who could
Truly appreciate texts
For lifetimes, at their leisure.

Gods had time to remember
Good old Ur-Nanshe who wrote
Diversions for their pleasure.