Gold glittering in the light of my torch
Strands of jewels draped over your coffin.I look at your mask of pounded gold,
the painted eyes, the regal mouth…
But when I lift the lid
Who will I find?
Who is underneath
the ornately molded mask?
A shriveled up man, twisted in
endless lengths of fine linen.
In your life you were great;
You had power and glory.
Everyone worshipped you;
the son of the gods,
the sun of the Two Lands
Eat your dainty sweetmeats,
Oh Great Pharaoh.
Paint your purple eyes
with dark rims,
Stroke your Persian silks,
and your small, winking jewels.
Who would dare insult you?
He shall die.
Who might offend you?
He will suffer.
Destroy you enemies, Great Pharaoh,
Wipe them out, with the magic
that flows from the shadows.
You are a king among kings
A master of mages
Who is greater than you, oh Pharaoh,
ugly, withered, dead one?
I sat on the steps of the temple, one day,
and watched you parade down the street
the courageous young pharaoh, the powerful warrior.
The commoners sit in the dry, yellow dust
while you ride above your litter, adorned with gold.
I would spit in your face
But it is not worth my head.
I look now at your empty, dry body,
stiff and fleshless in the glittering sarcophagus,
surrounded by priceless treasures
to aid the pharaoh in his journey through the afterlife.
I take what I want from your dragon's hoard,
picking out the things I like the best.
Will Ra strike me down?Will the guardians of the dead
put a blight on my soul?
You are nothing but a cold husk,
like the worthless, empty shell that the child tosses into the sand
as he rolls the sweet nut in his mouth,
A disgusting, yellowed corpse, stored in a pretty box.
Oh Great Pharaoh!
Lowering my torch, I light your body afire
and watch you burn,
stinking and hissing as the flames devour
whatever is left of my powerful, glorious king.
Oh Great Pharaoh!
For all your glory in life
And honor in death
What are you now?