Poemme Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 Gebel el Ahmar rock buried in the earth Heaved into the world of trees and berries Birds spinning in the sky The leopard in the sun The wind Where men drink the wine as gods Where the Nile Great father of rivers Sweeps the banks of Al-Jīzah Black Africa in the water Where Seth killed brother Osiris And in the barley The mud figure of Osiris Brought forth the bounty. The cutter at the stone Copper chisel Paring the poor face Chiseling fine bones Smoothing the brow The misshapen skull Symmetry for the eyes. Beloved quartzite pharaoh Young Tutankhamen Green in his ways Unmoved for three thousand years Almond eyes to the east In the great hallways Where the thousands come To pay homage to the king Cheeks of the young mandarin Ticket in their pocket For a look at the beautiful boy, Poor boy His mother never knew just what she’d done. No running wildly in his chambers On his crippled foot Legs of a grasshopper Falling as he walked Sweet voice in the morning For milk and honey Soft breasts beneath the tunic Of threaded cotton Blue beads and discs of the sun. And bring into the world Like lost gods The stillborn children More wreckage 317a and 317b Nineteen years of pain And loved now because he was a boy Beautiful as a girl in stone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger11 Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 Devastating closing P. Enjoyed the Egyptian references, though 'mandarin' took me to China. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poemme Posted May 31 Author Share Posted May 31 3 minutes ago, badger11 said: Devastating closing P. Enjoyed the Egyptian references, though 'mandarin' took me to China. I’m probably stretching the readers faith there. I like the word mandarin in the sense of the all-knowing, inscrutable, autocrat. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger11 Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 Personally, I'd keep the reader focus/imagination enclosed in the Egyptian magic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poemme Posted May 31 Author Share Posted May 31 Here’s a story you might find interesting. https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/09/02/did-chinese-civilization-come-from-ancient-egypt-archeological-debate-at-heart-of-china-national-identity/ Of course that doesn’t mean I can get away with using mandarin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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