Hatshepsut, Pharaoh, 18th Dynasty of Egypt: a nod to the missing verses

Hatshepsut kneeling. (through the eyes and hands of the sculptor)

 

by LJ Frank 

                                                                                                                                                                                       

Daughter of Thutmose I

did your lineage find way to the present,

stumbling through the velocity of time

for you were the Muse Architect of mixed blood

while the Greeks were perfecting their oral traditions

you were found one night writing on parchment –

as per one of your couriers remained quiet,

for you explored that which lies beyond the eyes

imagined things that caressed the motive of the soul,

that found its way in the nature of your buildings,

temples both physical and mindful to excite the will

while the theological blood ties had other ideas

but you were not to be erased from history

such was the splendor that is now admired,

monuments erected before religion was able to grasp

some dreams are an escape,

others seek the unfamiliar text of wonder,

you understood words were insufficient –

as if you had studied under a Buddhist Master

brought to Egypt from Asia –

so, you dressed the part of your position

but who really speaks for any person

the Bard takes note of the Body Politic,

sees things that no one else does,

those that followed in the shadows,

were unwise to dance on the flesh’s sorrow,

poison arrives in many forms –

for ignorance is revelation too late

and glibness is an unworthy companion

for intimacy requires a deep compassion,

while others stroke the false beard of the other

and winking becomes a private indulgence

what of the other side to the discolored lens

disenfranchised is found on ancient scrolls,

awareness asleep from too much wine

wisdom is a fickle mistress of men

adulation of the crowd is a naked ode –

when wealth and power are reason for existence

with limbs bound to the posts of the deceiver

and the skin aches with the soreness of a mistake

still, the Muse’s love is visibly expressed –

the poet to be uncovered in the Mortuary,

the imagination wonders about those words

the sound of a voice that affected so many –

missing verses written under evening candlelight.