KARNAK: IMPRESSON, DEPRESSION...

 Karnak: Impression, Depression…

Such an impression:

Eyeing the beautiful images rising on pillars

To Amun-Ra,

Shielding them

From the gleam,

The beam, the dream;

Electron burns atop the obelisk,

Piercing the sky

To announce a death,

Ultimately taking away the breath.

And my father’s chisel worked that granite,

In the searing heat;

The sheer heat…

Coughed dust,

From toil

And ragged breath:

Arthritic fingers,

Swollen joints,

Distorted death...

Such a depression:

Scorning the piled waste, rising on sand.

To Amun-Ra?

Screening eyes

From the head,

The dead, the dread;

Stone cover atop the grave,

Deterring the jackal,

To protect desiccation,

Ultimately preparing it for purification. 

And my father’s chisel worked the desert

In my weeping hand;

The dry sand…

Coughed dust,

My toil

And rapid breath:

Youthful fingers,

Inherited joints,

Engineered death…

Pete Ray

A youth using his father’s chisel to dig a desert grave for his parent, to be covered by stone, in an attempt to prevent jackals from scavenging flesh. 

The Temple of Karnak has a fine obelisk and mighty pillars, chiselled by hand. 

The monuments made an impression, as the boy made a depression in the sand. 

The youth will take his father’s place and die young too.

It’s what they did…