O, Time, who will slay the last Pharaoh?

Though seconds and minutes may have a strict deadline –

In spite of these, the sand-ridden streets of Giza,

And Alexandria, with a fast, Roman poison –

Still, still they live; and though thy foot trample the dunes of glass dust and mirror, he,

Some night of unjust justification

With steel drawn shall kill thy Old Kingdom.

Gorged with the dust of tombs and temples

destroyed –

With omniscient eyes like Osiris,

And watering maw of Anubis,

He believes himself worthy of the Sphinx’s question,

the tomb of his mighty, yet departed, predecessor,

He believes himself the lord, the Great.

 

I wrote this piece in emulation of The Chimera, a poem by Clarke Ashton Smith. A link to the original poem can be found here. What struck me the most, and perhaps inspired me the most, was the Sphinx. I’m not entirely sure why, but the topic of Ancient Egyptian history, though very real and historical, feels very much so like that of a fairy tale or a fantasy. There is much mystery harbored by many individuals towards this ancient civilizations, thus my inspiration was stirred. If you are not familiar with Ancient Egyptian history, I encourage that you research some on your time. In this piece that I wrote, I made sure to draw parallels to the Roman conquest of the Egyptian land, directly calling it a poison. Most notably, I provide reference to Julius Caesar. Caesar believed himself worthy to co-rule the country, even to the point where he envied Alexander the Great. In today’s world, we see leaders with delusions of grandeur also believing themsleves in the right to interfere with the issues of other nations. Despite what they believe, greatness does not come from how much influence and power one has, but it stems from how this power is used: inclusiveness, prosperity, and equality for all.