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RAJ NANDY Apr 2015
Dear Poet Friends, being fond of Art, I wanted to compose on
this topic for a long time in a simplified form! Egyptian Art and
Architecture influenced the Early Greeks, who in turn influenced the Romans and other civilizations! Initially Art and architecture, religion and culture, were all closely inter-related! Real distinction emerged with the Italian Renaissance. Here I have used only a portion of my personal notes. Hope you find this interesting to read! Sorry for the length! Kindly give Comments after you have managed to read the entire portion in your spare time. Thanks, -Raj

INTRODUCTION TO THE STORY
OF WESTERN ART IN VERSE:
          PART ONE
    * BY RAJ NANDY

INTRODUCTION
Art over the centuries has been variously defined,
But an all embracing definition is rather hard to find!
Ayn Rand defined Art as a recreation of reality according to
artist’s values, his view of existence, and choice;
Who recreates by a selective rearrangement of the elements
of reality, and not simply out of a void!
Study of Art History is a study of man’s creative evolution;
A progress of his wakened consciousness, and a restless
striving towards perfection!
The progress of his mind, taste and skill, which has gradually
evolved through past traditions;
Finding ultimate expression in his multi-faceted creations!
I commence this story from its earliest days, and mention those
Ancient Civilizations which influenced Art in many ways.
Art has been greatly influenced by religion, culture and history;
Therefore, knowing these aspects becomes necessary to
fully appreciate this Art Story!

PREHISTORIC STONE AGE ART:
Let us take a ride on the magic carpet of History, down
past millenniums to begin our Art Story;
Right into the ancient Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic
Eras of the Stone Age,
When early humans left their creative imprints on rock
surfaces and on walls of caves!
Long before the evolution of any proper coherent speech
or communication,
In some 350 caves of France and Spain are seen paintings
of large wild animals like horses, antelopes and bison;
Bearing witness to the story of gradual human evolution!
The cave paintings of Chauvet, Cosquer, and Lascaux, date
between 8000 and 1700 BC,
Drawn by nameless and faceless people who emerged from
an inhospitable Ice Age;
Those nomadic tribes who were hunter-gatherers living in
pre-historic caves!
The Story of Art therefore begins before recorded History,
Pieced together by scholars with the help of science and
archeology!
During the Neolithic Period beginning around 8,000BC,
Ancient man became gradually sedentary, engaging in
agriculture and animal husbandry!
With these nomads settling down in small communities,
Art became mystical and monumental in range;
As seen in the megalithic (large stone) structures of the
famous Stonehenge!
This type of post and lintel structure is also found in ancient
Egyptian architecture, and later in Greece as its special
feature!
Art History spans the entire history of mankind,
Right from the pre-historic days, up to our modern times!
Man’s everlasting quest for immortality lies etched on
rocks and raised stone edifices, defying marauding Time!

MESOPOTAMIAN ART (3500-300BC) :
Let us now travel fast forward on our magic carpet to reach
the Fertile Crescent,
Where the Tigress and the Euphrates Rivers flow, to the
Ancient Civilization of the Sumerians! (3500-2300BC)
The birth of civilization has been traced to Southern
Mesopotamia, where the Sumerians built their first cities,
As the earliest River Valley Civilization around 3500 BC!
It was a period when writing got invented in its earliest
Cuneiform form;  (around 3400 BC)
When Patriarch Abraham established the worship of a Single
God, in a revolutionary religious reform! (Judaism)
Mesopotamian Civilization as the source of our earliest
surviving Art dates back to 3500BC;
When major civilizations like the Sumerian, Akkadian,
Babylonian, Hitties, Assyrian, and the Persians, in this
chronological sequence, contributed to Art History!
Mesopotamian Art in general glorified their powerful rulers
and their connection with divinity;
Reflected on their city gates, palace complexes and ziggurats,

are scenes of both victorious wars and their prosperity!
Art was then highly functional and repetitive; depicting
love of beauty, a sense of order, and power of hierarchy,
- in their sculptures and motifs.
However, no signatures were ever found bearing the name
of the Artist!
It is interesting to note that both the potter’s wheel and the
cart wheel, made their first appearance around 3500 BC
and 3200 BC respectively;
With the Sumerians contributing to art and culture, and the
progress of Human Civilization immensely!
(Ziggurats are semi-pyramid like structures with steps, a temple complex located in the center of all ancient Sumerian cities-states! Saragon the Great of Akkad from the North, defeated the Sumerians in the South, & united entire Mesopotamia around 2300 BC, for the first time in Mesopotamian History, & they ruled for 200 years.)

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART :(3000 BC -500BC)
Next we travel to an isolated area of north-east Africa,
Where the White Nile flows down from Lake Victoria.
The Nile enters Upper Egypt traveling through Sudan,
Is joined by the Blue Nile at Khartoum to become one!
Continues its flow north through Egypt Lower, flowing
into the Mediterranean as the World’s longest river!
Historian Herodotus had called Egypt ‘the gift of the Nile’;
Ancient Egypt became a rich treasure trove of art and
architecture for all times!
The Nile valley area was protected by the desert on its
east and the west;
In the north by the Mediterranean, and towards the
south by a rugged mountainous terrain!
Annual flooding of the Nile along with an effective
irrigational network,
Ensured Egypt’s prosperous stability, congenial for her
many innovative architectures and art works!
Egyptian Art got shaped by her geography, mythology
and her polytheistic religion;
Also by their preoccupation with after-life and belief in  
the immortal soul’s continuation;
Thus elaborate funeral rites were performed by priests for  
the body’s preservation by mummification! *
(
’KA’= was a real astral twin or stellar double of an Individual, which continued to exist even after death, requiring the same sustenance as the humans, so food offerings were made in the coffins! ‘BA’= shaped like a human-headed bird, composed of non-physical attributes of an Individual. ‘BA’ collected the deceased’s personality after death from the mummified remains & united it with the ‘KA’, making a person complete; thereby making it possible for the person to be reborn as ‘AKH’ (Star), - in its ultimate unchanging form, to join Osiris in the ‘Happy Fields’! Since this journey to the next world was fraught with danger, magical funerary spells & rites were performed by the priests, with incantations from the ‘Book of the Dead’, inside the funeral chamber of the Pyramid!)

Art During Old, Middle, and New Kingdom Period:
Egyptian Art was concerned with ensuring continuity of the
universe, their Gods, the King and the people;
A projection into eternity a version of reality pure and free
from all earthly evil!
Therefore in ancient Egyptian society, conformity over
individuality was always encouraged;
Artists worked in groups with conservative adherence to
rules, order and form,
And all individual artistic initiatives strictly discouraged !
Their earliest pyramids the Mastaba, the Step, and the Bent
Pyramids were all prototypes;
While the Great Pyramid of Giza built for Pharaoh Kufu,
- was the first true pyramid which still survives!
Art comes down to us as ‘funerary art’ designed for the tombs,
Which was to accompany the royalty in their journey to an
afterlife, with its symbolic forms!
This symbolism is seen in their paintings, statues and architecture;
In vibrant color codes of their paintings as a special feature!
Where White was the symbol of purity, Black for death and night;
Green for vegetation or new life, Blue for water and the sky;
Red for life and victory, and Yellow like Gold as the flesh of the
Gods and also the Sun God ruling the sky!
Thanks to Jean-Francois Champollion’s translation of the Rosetta
Stone, (1822)
We are able to decipher many mysteries of the Ancient Egyptian
with the cracking of the Hieroglyphic Code!
Larger than life statues with poise and austere harmony at the
Luxor Temple complex survive;
Symbolic of the individual’s status, while creating zones of
strangeness for imagination to thrive!
(
’Matsaba’= Egyptian for ‘bench’, referred to bench shaped pyramids;
“Step Pyramids” = were like benches placed one on top of the other in
a tapering form going up vertically!)

The Old Kingdom Period covers a five hundred years span
of Ancient Egyptian History, (2686-2181BC)
Known as the ‘Age of Pyramids’, with Pharaohs from the
Third to the Sixth Dynasty!
“The World fear Time, but Time fears only the Pyramids”,
- is an Ancient Egyptian Proverb;
Whose ‘heterogeneous structure’ made it earthquake
proof, making Time to reluctantly serve! #
Here we find formalized figures with long slender bodies,
idealized proportions and large staring eyes;
Where Kufu’s Great Pyramid of Giza raises its mighty head
as the highest, on the west bank of the Nile;
And the mighty Sphinx guard the entrance to those ancient
royal tombs, though defaced, still survive!
These pyramids were like Pharaoh’s getaways to eternity,
An insurance to an afterlife of peace and prosperity!
(# Pyramids with stone blocks of different sizes & shapes made them
Earthquake resistant; & use of pink granite in the inner chambers
made them erosion resistant against Time!)

The Middle Kingdom Period (2040-1650 BC) :
Following 150 years of civil disorder Theban ruler Mentuhotep
the Second, reunified Egypt and ruled up to Nubia, (Sudan)
And began the Classical Era when Block Statues appear,
indicating political stability;
When artisans worked with bronze and copper alloys, designing
exquisite jewelry!
Kings now preferred to be buried in secret tombs, Pyramids
having lost their appeal,
And work began on the west bank of the Nile, in the Valley of
Kings!
(
Inside those rock cut ‘funerary temples’ on the East bank of the
Nile, opposite Ancient Kingdom of Thebes ; Pharaohs from the
Early and Late New Kingdom Periods were buried, including
Tutemkhamen.)

Early New Kingdom Period (1550 -1295 BC):
Between the Middle Kingdom and this Era, Art remained
static for almost a hundred years,
When the Hyksos from the Near East fought the weak Theban
Rulers!
In 1550 BC Theban Prince Ahmose reunited Egypt, and was
succeeded by able rulers, who ushered in the Golden Age!
Art works continued to maintain its basic traditional style,
With successive Kings from the 18th Dynasty consolidating
their kingdom’s wealth and power all the while!
But Egypt witnessed a change with an innovative style in Art,
When Amenhotep IV in 1353 BC became King, initiating a
fresh start!
This king changed his name to ‘Akhenaten’, the spirit of Aten,
-- ‘The disk of the Sun’;
Abandoned the pantheons of Gods with Aten as the ‘sole God’,
and a religious revolution had begun!
His new capital city of Amarna, 200 miles north of Thebes,
Got decorated with a new kind of art work to make it complete!
The statues now appear more realistic displaying emotions,
With fluidity of movement, unlike those rigid earlier creations!
The artistic talent of this Amarna Period gets best exemplified,
In the exquisite bust of Nefertiti, Akhenaten’s Great Royal Wife!
Regarded as ‘icon of international beauty’, a great archeological
find ! **
(
Discovered by a German team of Archeologists in 1912 at Amarna! This 19 inch long limestone Nefertiti statue weighs around 20 kg, now housed in Berlin Museum; comparable only to the artistic Golden Mask of Tutankhamen!)

King Tutankhamen (1336-1327 BC):
Akhenaten’s unpopular rule was short-lived, with those humiliated
Theban priests calling him the ‘Heretic King’!
A nine year old boy Tutankhamen (‘The living image of Amun’),
was next to succeed him!
King Tut restored the worship of Amun, in a back-lash against
Akhenaten;
Shifted the royal palace back to Thebes, with the religious center
at Karnak once again!
King Tut’s short ten year’s rule remained buried in 3000 year’s
of Egyptian History,
Till Howard Carter found his richly laden intact tomb, in the
Valley of the Kings! (1922)
King Tut’s priceless and exquisitely carved golden face mask,
reflected the exalted standard of art work;
Weighing ten kilos, inlaid with semi-precious stones, and eyes
made of obsidian and quarts!
With the King’s early death, the 18th Dynasty of Pharaohs came
to an abrupt end,
And the 19th and 20th Dynasties of the Late Kingdom Period
commenced!
The famous rock temple of Abu Simbel now got built, under the
warrior and builder Ramses II, one of Egypt’s greatest Kings!


Pharaoh Ramses-II of the Late Kingdom Period :
Here I sweep across centuries of Egyptian History, to mention
King Ramses-II’s contribution to our Art Story!
In Shelly’s famous poem titled “Ozymandias of Egypt” he is
immortalized; (Greeks called Ramses-II “Ozymandias”!)
And as the Pharaoh associated with Moses in the movie “The
Ten Commandments”, he is popularized!
Egyptian Art is intrinsically bound with its religion, pyramids,
hieroglyphs, and architecture;
With a concentrated focus on ‘afterlife’ as its special feature!
In 1270 BC young Ramses took over from Seti the First,
And his rule for a period of 66 long years did last!
As the third Pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty, he had ruled with a
firm hand;
Recovered lost territories from the Hittites and the Nubians,
- earlier captured Egyptian lands!
He enlarged the territories of Egypt ensuring prosperity and
stability;
Became renowned as the famous Warrior and Builder King
of Ancient Egyptian History!
Ramses-II had expanded most of the temples, as recorded in
the artistic motifs and hieroglyphic symbols;
Here a special mention must be made of the Temples of Luxor,
Karnak, and Abu Simbel !

Temples of Luxor and Karnak in Ancient Thebes:
Ancient Thebes was located on the eastern bank of the Nile,
where the modern City of Luxor stands;
Thebes was once the capital of the 11th and 18th Dynasties,
And the power and religious center of all Egyptian land!
Gets mentioned in the 9th Book of Homer’s ‘Iliad’ where “heaps
of precious ingots gleam, the hundred-gated Thebes”!
Excavation work began in Thebes during the late 19th century;
And the gradual unearthing of the Temples of Luxor and
Karnak, added a new dimension to Egypt’s Art Story!
It must be remembered always, that the Ancient Egyptians in
those early days,
Structured their temple architecture to the point of ‘Sacred Art’!
With their knowledge of astronomy and geometry, they
aligned their temples so perfectly,
That the light of the rising sun fell on the temple’s innermost
sanctuary! (Temple of Abu Simbel is a great example,)
Where the Egyptian priests, who were also the artists, healers,
mathematicians, astronomers and scribes;
In dimly lit incense-filled sanctuaries performed the sacred rites!
The temples symbolized the cross roads of the cosmos, where
the divine and the mortal met in perpetual harmony!
These divine scenes were integrated into the very fabric of the
Egyptian society through chants and rituals;
With cosmological symbols of magical hieroglyphs, which
priests alone could transcribe in those days!
(
Thebes began to decline rapidly after Alexander the Great
established the port-city of Alexandria as Egypt’s new Capital
around 332 BC !)

Luxor Temple built by Amenhotep-III, was dedicated to God
Amun, his wife Mut and son Khonsu, - the Theban Triad;
Tutankhamen and Ramses-II expanding the temple during the
New Kingdom Period!
Creator God Amun became assimilated with the Sun God Re;
Was worshipped in Thebes, and in the cult centers of Luxor and
Karnak, - as Amun-Re!
The walls and columns of these cult temples were decorated
with carved and painted relief,
Depicting the interaction with Gods, and military exploits of
Egyptian Pharaohs and Kings!
The sun temple of Amenhotep-III at Luxor has many columns
resembling papyrus bundles,
Symbolic of the primeval marsh from where Creation was
believed to have unfolded !
A Sphinx Alley excavated between Luxor an
Lucius Furius Aug 2017
It promised to be quite ordinary,
that old student/new student/faculty social hour.

I had come to Champaign with high hopes a year earlier,
starting a new career (--and hoping to find someone to love).
Now, with just three months left,
my studies had been a success,
but I had not found anyone to love.
And now I was thinking beyond Champaign:
where I would go, what I would do with my new degree.

I scanned the faces in the crowd.
Mixed in with all-too-familiar classmates and teachers were new people:
A formidable, blonde-haired woman
with a big voice and a large imitation pearl necklace;
no meek, retiring librarian here; a Valkyrie.
A guy with wire-rimmed glasses in his early twenties;
congenial, but serious; he had studied engineering.
A girl; stylish, extroverted;
loved Faulkner; engaged to be married.
A sensitive, thirty-ish woman; recently divorced;
her ex had stuck her with a mountain of credit card debt.
And you, in a pink dress.
No jewelry, not much makeup.
Nice figure.
Very simple, very pretty.
A wonderful smile.
Obviously bright.
You had gone here as an undergraduate.
You had taught school in Iowa for several years
and now were back to get a Library degree.
You had grown up on a farm.
You were eminently lovable.
You were, amazingly, unmarried.

I felt that I was at an art exhibition in nineteenth century France.
Here was Raffaelli's "Boulevard of the Italians"
which had sold for 500 francs.
Over here Lecomte de Nouy's "Ramses in His Harem"
which had brought 1900.
And over here in the corner, neglected,
Van Gogh's, "The Artist's Room at Arles".
I felt like shouting,
"My friends, can't you see the beauty of this painting:
its simplicity and purity, its energy; the symphony of its colors!
You have opted for these smooth, conventional paintings
and left this one, the most valuable of all, unsold. . . ."

I felt like hugging you, right then and there.

You were number two or three on my all-time "instant attraction" list.
But I was wary -- so many others had not worked out, why would you?

Our first date was a "Streetcar Named Desire".
I put my arm around you during the play and held your hand as we walked back    toward your apartment.
I invited you to "Bubby and Zadie's" cafe. You refused and offered no alternative.
I was devastated. So this, too, would come to nothing.
We would walk the three blocks back to your apartment.  We would say    goodnight.
I would go home and cry. That would be that.

But when we arrived, my hopes soared: you invited me up to your apartment. You really just didn't like Bubby and Zadie's -- and you liked and trusted me well enough that the intimacy of your apartment didn't seem inappropriate. We talked for a long time and kissed. When I left, all traces of wariness were gone. The coming weeks would not be ordinary.
Hear Lucius/Jerry read the poem: humanist-art.org/old-site/audio/SoF_058_champaign.MP3 .
This poem is part of the Scraps of Faith collection of poems ( https://humanist-art.org/scrapsoffaith.htm )
Julie Grenness Jun 2015
MARS

The Shaman and the Planet Mars,
Gazing in wonder amid the stars,
Arms raised in worship,
The Universe the Navajo church,
Ancient marvels to behold,
The human race timeless and old,
From Mars to Earth,
Did spaceships give berth?
Ramses' face on Mars,
Pondering Ptolemies from afar,
The Shaman honour singing,
Future and past aligning,
Gazing in wonder amid the stars,
The Shaman and Planet Mars.
Feedback.
Andrew Rueter Nov 2017
I scoffed at my minor cough
Until I was immobile as a sloth
I had to press pause on my life's tale
After I became a beached whale
And my body turned frail
In my illness jail

My stoic resolve tested
My pain threshold crested
The way I act is antisocial
The way I feel is anti-hopeful
For I treat others poorly
When I'm hurting sorely

In sickness for health
I give away my wealth
To feel one hundred percent
That's the physician's intent
To make me experience drainage
But I need the healing medicine
So I can practice the discipline
Of removing my diseased shark's fin

Ramses II, known as Ramesses the Great
Had a permanently fractured finger
And his teeth were significantly rotten
The pharaoh's excruciating pain
Must have effected his reign
A massive amount of men slain
Is discomfort what's to blame?

When there's no pain relief
We give each other grief
And there's a lion with a thorn stuck in its paw
Eventually that simple thorn becomes a claw
Michael Kusi Jan 2019
Pharoah Ramses was dictating the Battle to his scribe.
Saying that, I fought my way and the gods helped me stay alive!
The King’s young daughter, Meritiamen, said Please excuse me.
But it was by my efforts that the Hittites and their allies were made to flee.
Ramses brushed her off and said, Hush young child the pharaoh is speaking.
Now scribe, I could feel the Ptah Division began to weaken.
Mertiamen retorted, Father, it was your Amun Division that broke first.
My Ptah Division came to save you, otherwise it would have been the worse.
The scribe was confused and said to himself, These writings would be my end.
One of them is telling the truth, the other one is living in pretend.
I believe the pharaoh is living in a world where only the gods reside.
Ramses blurted out, Then I stabbed the Hittite high king and he died!
Mertiamen rolled her eyes and said, Then how come we did not recover his corpse.
Father, you did a great service to the gods and Egypt yesterday, you don’t have to force.
It was a great victory, you don’t have to diminish it with a lie
The Hittite High King left the battlefield, he did not die.
Ramses snorted and said, I was all alone, no once around to save .
An arrow narrowly missed me, if it hit I would be in the grave.
The God of Egypt made mortal, it would have been a tragedy too.
Meritiamen blurted out, But my Ptah Division broke in to rescue you.
The scribe said, From now on, I will ask Meritiamen about the dispatch.
Because my pharaoh, it seems as if you don’t have all of the proper facts.
Ramses protested, But we were surrounded with no hope of breakthrough.
Meritiamen shook her head and said, My Pharoah, I would never let them take you.
The Pharoah and his Princess were arguing, and the scribe put his head in his hand.
Muttering to himself, I just cant… I don’t really understand.
I was working for the temple when they said Work for the pharaoh on campaign.
This is the hardest thing I’ve done in my life, and I can feel virtue leaving my brain.
The Princess then smiled saying, Scribe, we will have separate dispatches of the Battle of Kadesh.
I’m sure mine would be better, but the Pharoah also has a tale to embellish.
The Pharoah started up again, and the scribe rolled his eyes.
After so many years of observing Pharoah Ramses, he wasn’t really surprised.
Dionne Charlet Nov 2016
Sands traverse oceans to envelop me
within the coercion of a dream of Egypt
as I search the turquoise of the medallion in my hands
to match the gray-blue of his eyes.

Too long have I willed for him
to sail the Atlantic,
stride through the door,
and sweep me from haunting this view of London.
But for now I am left
to my own image and a pane,
so I muster the meat of my palm
within this sleeve of lace
to brush it across the glass for a clearer look,
yet my efforts have revealed
no more than engorged eyelids reflected…
manacles of me.

Behest of self,
maniacal I am slated
to perform involuntary tedium,
hopeful to unlock deeper meaning
within each hieroglyph,
once so purposefully etched in a semblance of bronze.

I long to surrender
to the warmth of the taste of iron
caught in his sights over a tomb blanketed in gold.

I will come for you, Daughter of Heaven and Earth.

Spontaneous peristalsis of phrase
connects with the drop
gurgling through the candid quiet
and I wonder
if the image that now reflects would indulge him,
or if he might ****** the lock of dark hair
that he cropped from my neck with the skill of an assassin
when our paths first crossed in Cairo.

Time has softened the image I hold of him;
his eyes are satin,
burning like a flag still waving
as his army advances over our forbidden dig.

There is something
sensation-like in downfall…
copious saline embodies the fractal curve.

I found no scrolls of the Book of the Dead.

Here in my olive skin I rot like a peach
that’s been left in a satchel
forgotten to dust of the ages
disturbed by picks and axes
that strike with the determination of discovery.
A peach, never to be savored;
never to nourish or to pleasure,
or be trampled by insects
and carried off in pieces
to the hollow of the ant queen.

My eyelids are hard to turn like wet pages
forced to envision a river that is not the Nile
where I am held within the binds of propriety,
corsetted, bustled, and locked out of Egypt
dammed from the salvation
of even an intermittent Dutchman’s finger
by dunes and shores and footfalls
to find words that stream in liquid resonance
where firm succumbs to self and
I can feel passion writhing through my intangibles.

Thusly, clouds form over a city that blackens and distorts
the way a river's reflection of my face
would ripple from the plunging body of a dove,
belly-up, encased in wings,
and two thousand miles from him.

Arousal is a moccasin seethed in spasms
of peristalsis and musculature
toward the beckoning pulse of breast.

Any hope for contact collapses into flesh,
venom sheathes each corpuscle,
and a woken neck flails in judgment
before the truth in his eyes
under the shadow of the Great Pyramid
where Ramses II lies supine
across the Turin Papyrus.

I imagine the other side of me
and where she might reflect when
all that there is in such a study
contributes to my wanting
to wreak my bellied freedom
beneath crevices that sink as crevices do
in downward angled layers
to withstand the ages.

Dark hair gleams in contrast,
more for strip of scalp
than the trickle of red down my back.

Breached like sugar that candid—
starburst wings of Monarchs dripping ancient like sunsets
over magenta and milky mauve in the reeds—
my ankles revealed and inverted to the sky they glean, yet...

his arrival is delayed
when the pistol ***** three times.
The still of my breast compounds
with the steady union of the dark, and
somewhere denial flows with the sands.

So cycles change, like a fable for Eternal.

“Daughter of Heaven and Earth,” written by Dionne Charlet, appears in print in Cairo by Gaslight, the second anthology in the By Gaslight Series from New Orleans small press Black Tome Books.  Books in the series include New Orleans by Gaslight (ISBN 9780615801186) and Cairo by Gaslight (ISBN 9781516961528).  Both collections feature poetry by Charlet, under the pseudonym Dionne Cherie. Look for the upcoming anthology Paris by Gaslight, which will feature a poem of the same title by Dionne.
A steampunk narrative poem of adventure and love lost in Cairo.
Saije Cook Aug 2014
Your determination puts me in anticipation as I'm patiently waiting for you to surpass my expectations.
Your aspiration gives me elations that keep me covered in perspiration from the constant titillation of good vibrations from you mental exhalations.
I swear my admiration can't fit in an equation to find the summation of my adoration plus your negation to be an imitation, hot **** your dedication is amazing.
I'm contemplating if you can be to me what the mighty sphinx was to the king Ramses.
If I'm out of line, please don't push back in, I'm going out of my mind like hair that needs relaxing.
Keep me on my toes and I hope that this feeling grows cause only God knows the ropes to keep us ever close.
Just don't say no when I go slow in my one woman show, to have your heart glow, go to and fro like my prose on the ocean flow.
Alex Aug 2020
Pink cherry blossoms fall like shedding tears
Gently caressing the earth as they land.
To me, it's just decay like rotting flesh
Of one once loved. Just bones and putrid smells

Idle conversation falling upon your tongue
As your bright eyes exclaim more than words could.
These words die out soon enough and I
Never cared for the company of beauty;
I am but a misshapen wretch beside you

Oh! Friend, lover, fiend and vagrant - sorry,
But I reject it all. My heart closes
Like a fist and all we were fades like
The stones at the foot of Ramses, devoid
Of what we once were; more ghosts than people.

Snows and skies of laughter slowly diminish,
I replace them with silence and apathy.
Soon I forget what was so funny
Nor do I particularly care.
Michael Kusi Jan 2019
Essence let out a hacking cough and said, I have a cold.
I don’t know if it is because I am sick or because I am old.
Brutus protested, But you are youthful in appearance and strong.
We need you Queen Essence to right the Greek wrong.
He was talking to her as he was driving her chariot there.
To arrive too late to save Troy was Essence’s greatest fear.
Over months the Hittite Army got closer to the location.
Essence was bringing the entire might of the Hittite nation.
Her face was determined, they had the army to save.
It would be because of her efforts the Trojans were not slaves.
The Hittite Army camped some hundreds of miles away from the Trojans.
Essence told all of them that they should be happy to be chosen.
To go on such an expedition, and be in such a position.
Their rewards would be to see the faces of Trojan living.
Essence soon got to the site, and her worst fear had come true.
There was not a Trojan in sight, only dead bodies who had been slew.
Essence fell to her knees in grief-stricken rages.
All of the Trojans were dead, they now belonged to the sages
She got up and smiled wickedly, as if to make a vow to the sky.
Where I stand right now, every Greek living must die.
Essence prepared her army to invade the Greek homeland.
She spoke to each of them that the Greeks must have their own stand.
But when they arrived to Agammemon’s palace, they discovered he was not alive.
And his courtiers had fled with terror, because all they wanted to do was survive.
Essence’s army grimly put a torch to Greece, and put it in the Dark Ages.
Because she felt justified into doing so, because of her sorrow and rages.
Essence then returned to Anatolia, but then she received a dispatch letter.
That the Hittite Empire was fallen, and to go to Egypt would be much better.
She marched to Egypt, and put her army under her father Ramses’ command.
Ramses was now Pharoah of all that he could see in every land.
He put Essence in charge of the Amum division, made up of her men.
Essence lead the Amum division against Nubia, and soon conquered them.
As for Brutus, he continued from Greene to a island between the sea.
He named it Britainnia after himself, for it to be the land of the free.
KV Srikanth Jan 2021
Four times a week
Matinee Evening or Night.
A trip to the movies .
Was a guarantee
As I call to mind.
A bijou of a place
Standing in queue
Counting the heads ahead.
Fervently praying for a seat
Looking at the marquee.
Stars name Starring in.
Ticket in hand
Was Disneyland.
Next stop was the poster
Mammoth in size
In awe would analyze.
Eyes sharp as laser.
Focus on the credits
Memorizing the artists.
Row didn't matter
Insistent but on an aisle seat.
The view seemed better
A quirk I never got over.
Always early and looking at the watch
Eagerly waiting for the curtains to part.
Commercials and Government Propaganda.
Enduring the two was hard.
Trailer was theaters choice.
If shown there was no greater joy.
Censor certificate would flash.
Number of reels had to be scrutinized.
The length of the film it indicated.
All I learnt ,I learned from the movies.
Escapism it wasn't.
It reflected reality.
In the darkness surrounding the walls.
Existence outside seemed like a dream.
Rays from the projector
Made life look brighter.
Certain things leave.
Others Stay.
Ellicits an emotional response
Feeling being the outcome.
Inscribed seldom witherd.
Thinking and Feeling paradoxical.
Contradiction within the hall.
70 s the greatest era since existence.
Movies made were no exception.
Never came out disappointed
Magicians were the makers.
Collaboration amongst masters
Craft at its zenith
Skill never scarce
Epitome of brilliance
Audience addiction but natural

Charles Bronson Death Wish.
Audience manipulation at its zenith
Body count lost count
Bronson being cheered and worshipped
Everytime shot a man dead.

Clint Eastwood ***** Harry.
Iconoclastic cop full of Fury.
Crowds swelling
Superstar by defenition
4 more sequels held our attention.

Sean & Roger.
Nobody did it better
Bond and Beyond
License to ****
Gadgets and Puns
Q & M
Made it fun
Gun Barrel and theme.
Made the audience scream.
Entertainment only motive
All 13 adorable.

Steve McQueen,The Thomas Crown Affair.
The King of Cool
Monet missing .
McQueen present.
Played Chess with Faye
Held the crowds in sway

Burt Reynolds
Smokey and the Bandit
Chased across the South ,Sally in tow
Taxied on the freeway
In a Pontiac Trans am
Surround sound.
Made ears drown
Train wrecks ,Car chases , Sheriff's Department and the FBI
Know you're in for a Reynolds fare.

Yul Brynner stylish and bald.
Unique walk idolised by all.
Leader of the Seven.
Oscar for King and I
Ramses to Moses
Endearingly Popular
Baritone voice
People s Choice.





Lee Marvin headed The ***** Dozen.
Nunnally Johnson had it written.
Every time it had a run
Fans enjoyed the fun.

Paul Newman The Macintosh Man
Most famous blue eyes
Directed by Huston
Enjoyed a good run
Butch and Sundance
The Sting
Made a great pair with Redford
Male Bonding never looked more stylish




Gene Hackman  The French Connection
Pedal to the metal.
Pontiac Le Mans.
Chasing an El train
Greatest chase sequence ever filmed
Hackman Actor and Superstar
Twice won the Oscar.

Warren  Beatty **** Tracy
Appeared on screen scarcely.
Multifaceted and handsome.
More Oscars than films acted
Is an old Hollywood joke which hasn't dated.

Jack Nicholson Chinatown.
Mentored by Roger Corman.
Some are Stars .
Some are Actors.
Star and Actor
A rare Combination,
He achieved by dedication.
Multifaceted man
Everybody is a fan
Oscar for every decade
Inmate ,Astronaut ,Writer
Whatever the character
The Academy did honour.
Also watched him play Joker, drifter murderer
Turned down The Godfather
Independent Republic of Jack Nicholson
Is the name of the abode for his fans.
Given by none other than Mike Nichols.


Amitabh Bachchan and Dharamendra.
Two greatest superstars of India.
3 films together
Outcome couldn't be bigger.
Chupke Chupke a comedy classic.
Sholay praised even by Satyajit Ray.
Ram Balram with Vijay Anand
You can't go wrong.
Sold out for weeks in advance.
Black Market was the only chance.
Inflated prices ,they built houses
The legend goes.
Sea of humanity
A regular sight
Where their movies played .
Cash registers ringing
Never missed the opening screening.

Marlon Brando The Godfather
You can't refuse the offer
Refused the Oscar.
Method Acting mentor
Generations of Actors, will always remember.

George Scott ,Patton
Sagebrush portrayal
Of the 4 Star General
Opening monologue
Inspiration to all
Great Actor who went beneath the skin of the character.

Al Pacino Scarface
Portrayal in your face
Theater , Television and Movies.
Performed with equal intensity.
Tony ,Emmy and Oscar
Would be proud to be in his roster.

Robert De Niro Godfather 2
He portrayed Vito too
Created history
Won the Oscar for Supporting Actor
To Brando a worthy successor.

Robert Redford Brubaker
A name given to every reformer
Adored by Women
Imitated by Men.
Superstar of the decade
Turned director
Won the Oscar
Sundance Festival
Platform provided
Filmmakers flocked
Many talents unlocked.




If I'm told I have only a few hours to live.
Can we go and watch a movie
Alvian Eleven May 27
Once upon a time when Moses was preparing for the struggle.
Ramses II hanged the Jews every day.
If Moses did not surrender the Jews would continue to be hanged every day.
Then the Jews were divided between still supporting or blaming Moses.

Now Hamas has the same position as Moses.
If Hamas does not surrender the people of Gaza will continue to be massacred by Israel every day.
The rest will die slowly from starvation due to the blockade.
Then the people of Gaza are divided between still supporting or blaming Hamas.

This is history repeating itself.
Just different times and figures but the story remains the same.
This is about powerlessness , sense of urgency and loss of trust.


May 2025

By Alvian Eleven
Johnny Noiπ Mar 2019
A placenta produces a painted door.

There is no problem with the task.
No Vera, I love you, that's why
they do not like the Sense
of humiliation, naszimento
and spirito nascimento, senorita.

You can use the commands throughout the day.

Well, you have to do the same,
and there is a task that helps you
find a discount, the backup is an insert.
Eleanor is based on the fact
that he lost a village that is
considered a reminder
of the abolition of the law
and committed a crime against
humanity. In silence, minha natação;
The final event is the term, the nature of nature,
nature, the main concern of nature. -The.
The library of Sono is King Disco
Gracas, a great man of Electricity
and nights are fragments of hate.

Poisonous poison often poisoned
the excretion because the third
movement of the mind was a ghost
that was the hand of a friend.
The red must be tired of the big
one who cried in its place. During
the stadium, worrying about
the love of the world excited
people in the summer lost
to the light of a wall and the fear I have.

On the other hand, the verification
of the carrot is like aeronautics, a
sequential sequencer for the Erosgrove
coefficient or the baseline.
I do not want meat,
but I do not know what to do;
Take a picture: simple curves
and a simple mountain.
Armageddon is a great honor
for the curses of the martyrs
of Ramses and his grandmother, Chuma,
LLC is a glass and a vitreous
of a vitreous; it is a soul
that has the purpose of saying
that a Mayan mass has a purpose;

There is a wonderful lesson for children,
Guava, Lego, Virginia, and nowhere
in the world is there a ***** and
a snifter. A cooperative room affected
the fate that a peaceful desensitization
of Pinheiros, nothing curved or fractal.
The role of the comic actor
is the main comic character, the head
of the comic. Eleanaco desperate
lembranças quando leaves the family
strong. Observing the endless scenes
of Oz, a comedy of astonishment;
comedy, the best, the center
of the hakov sakov and the superior
frago. You cannot wear a dress
that may contain a toilet,
an aluminum carpet, a dear rho,
a franc of oz. I need a mouth
and a mouth, his grandfather
is a great man and he is a great
man. Fumaca is the most
important, the most important
and the most promising...

— The End —