Of Civilization and Disenchantment
by Michael R. Burch
Suddenly uncomfortable
to stay at my grandfather's house ?
actually his third new wife's,
in her daughter's bedroom
? one interminable summer
with nothing to do,
all the meals served cold,
even beans and peas...
Lacking the words to describe
ah! , those pearl-luminous estuaries ?
strange omens, incoherent nights.
Seeing the flares of the river barges
illuminating Memphis,
city of bluffs and dying splendors.
Drifting toward Alexandria,
Pharos, Rhakotis, Djoser's fertile delta,
lands at the beginning of a new time and "civilization."
Leaving behind sixty miles of unbroken cemetery,
Alexander's corpse floating seaward,
bobbing, milkwhite, in a jar of honey.
Memphis shall be waste and desolate,
without an inhabitant.
Or so the people dreamed, in chains.
Published by The Centrifugal Eye and The Centrifugal Eye Fifth Anniversary Anthology. Keywords/Tags: Memphis, barges, bluffs, Alexandria, Pharos, Rhakotis, Djoser, Alexander, waste, desolate, river, boat, city, bible, boy, childhood, grandfather
A holy, amaranthine light,
Surely guides the world aright,
Lo! To distant nations yon,
The golden flame of faith,
Carries eastward on!
Promethean, the fire shines
And has shone, since olden times:-
Evangelists in days bygone,
Stole the sterling flame,
From Hyperion!
The flame the lamp-like Pharos bore,
Lit the ancient Grecian shore,
But, behold the valiant sight:-
The golden flame of faith,
Immortal, stays alight
Egypt
Egypt land of forgoten wonders
pharos leaders ring the sorrow
beautiful land, forgoten wonders
Egypt Egypt Egypt burried tresures made to never be seen
so were these people really so keen
Egypt my love where have you been
Egypt Egypt Egypt
i miss the rest of you the old egypt
burried even deeper in the smooth deserts
i guess its good bye even to the sphinx
my poor little ones nose i will miss
Every stone brick put in its place
It occupies large space
Up the pyramid leads the staircase
The monuments inside show pharos face
Even thou pyramids stood long time showing their grace
It is so easy for time things to erase
And in forgotten words are hard to retrace
And lost love ones nothing can replace
Yet ancient Egyptians believed death is just a transitional phase
That although body dies soul cannot be destroyed by time, war or fiery blaze
And I believe after death you go to a place with beauty that will amaze
As upon its immortal visage the soul will gaze
But some say pyramid is just lots of stone
It cannot save the soul alone
But destiny beyond the grave is unknown
And to mortal eyes it is not shown
One might argue that even if pyramid is build
It is just nice looking monument covering large field
And it is the celestial pyramid that needs to be build
And it is a process which cannot be fulfilled
For like tower of Babel it will fall
And with it hope of a soul
But I believe we will reach that goal
When knights of Giewont Mountain awaken gift of life to extol
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