I see the painted sarcophagus, but not the Pharaoh,
only the ghost of the one who painted its symbols and hieroglyphs.
A few spatters of red paint encrusted on her face, the smell of oils,
a reward of coins, a night of victorious cries of pleasure,
and in the morning, a mere woman checking the alabaster jars so
her unused paint would not dry to powder like the Pharoah’s blood.
Garth Von Buchholz is a dark fiction author, editor and publisher who lives in Victoria, BC, Canada. His recent book of poetry, Mad Shadows, was published in 2010 by Black Sun Poetry. Visit his Website at http://VonBuchholz.com to read excerpts from his poetry, fiction and drama.
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Posted on October 25, 2010 in Literary
October 25th, 2010 at 6:48 am
Is this about Farah, the fabled dog who became a woman by entering into the cast-off body of her master’s immortal sister?
October 26th, 2010 at 8:23 am
My only problem with this poem is that in Ancient Egypt women did not paint symbols and hieroglyphs on a sarcophagus. It was an occupation for men.
http://www.ancientnile.co.uk/occupations.php
October 26th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Irena’s observation is correct as I’ve also read that there was no evidence of Egyptian women being involved in painting the tombs. And yet women were very active in ancient Egyptian society, including the arts. Helena of Egypt, for example, was well known as an artist.
Of course, this is poetry–imaginative storytelling, not historical record. The speaker in the poem is having a vision of the a woman who painted the sarcophagus. It’s about trying to imagine the artist behind the art for after so many centuries the art is more real to the speaker than the actual Pharaoh.
October 27th, 2010 at 3:53 am
Yes, I understand, I would imagine a man though.:)
Helena of Egypt was Greek, she would not paint a sarcophagus.
Sorry for being too factual about this poem.
October 27th, 2010 at 7:37 am
The persons who painted hieroglyphics on sarcophagi probably had religious positions and likely it was done with ritual and possibly in religious costume. In the morning the woman would appear normally dressed doing ordinary paintshop chores.
What I don’t understand is “a night of victorious cries of pleasure” which brought to mind Farah, the dog who donned the shed body of her master’s eternal sister.
October 28th, 2010 at 2:41 am
The persons who painted sarcophagi were artisans and did not have religious positions. Unlike funeral ceremony which had a number of rituals, painting was not done with ritual.