A Mummy's Viewpoint

(an alternative view after a museum visit in Oxford)

Encased in glass, I lie supine,

as people pass by single file.

My body bound by linen strips

in geometric patterned style

of ancient Egypt's craftsmanship.

A Roman portrait at my head,

my lips are pursed, too sad to smile.

"She was a beauty", I hear said,

"How did she meet her early death?

Her pearls portray a life of wealth,

too bad her riches and her gold

could not have bought her better health".

Into a stranger's land I'm brought,

away from all I've ever known,

where day to day I am displayed

undignified, away from home.

The afterlife I had in mind

was where I languished in my dreams,

yet here within museum walls,

it's not the heaven that it seemed.

My silent cries are lost to all,

how small I am within this place.

Repatriate me, please I ask

to find elation on my face.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

and in the end...no matter how big or important we were in life....in death we are the same size as anyone else...
i like the theme here...and it is coincidental...because I am reading a book right now about a woman in a coma..she has her thoughts and hears what people are saying , but cannot communicate and they all think she is oblivious when actually she is not...interesting what we can hear in those situations...
being on display is never easy.
j.

[Christine Anne Shaw]

That book sounds interesting Jacob, and is on a subject I have often pondered on. The awfulness of being imprisoned in your mind while your body is effectively useless. Pleased to hear where my words took you. Many thanks.

Chris

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Christine... a mummy's last dance...
whereupon at a glance... there are memories
when music played and pearls lay upon her breast.
The Egyptians knew our Spirit lived on through
blessings bestowed. Your poetry flows like the Nile..
steadfast and true. truly, Pat

[Christine Anne Shaw]

Many thanks Pat for your beautiful and poetic response, and for giving this older poem an airing.read moreMany thanks Pat for your beautiful and poetic response, and for giving this older poem an airing.

Chris

[Hayley]

Wow, this was really cool. Not every day you think about the perspective of one that has been dead for years. Though, I wonder -- would this being taken from home and put on display really matter if the soul is someplace in the afterlife?

[Christine Anne Shaw]

many thanks Hayley and many apologies for the late response. You are right about the soul, but I still think human remains deserve respect. A museum, is not the right place for that in my own opinion.

Chris

[Iain L. Luen]

Good portrayal of the emotions of one without their anchor. Although I don't believe in all the fancy burial stuff--throw what's left of me in the garbage--I care about those who care. If artifacts are safe in their homeland, leave them there.

[Christine Anne Shaw]

Thank you so much for your visit. You are welcome and I appreciate your thoughts on this write. I agree with much of what you say, but would prefer to be scattered as dust than put in the garbage:)

Chris

[Iain L. Luen]

I heard of a service where your ashes can be mixed with concrete, put into a form, and put on the ocean floor to create a new reef. New age condos.

[Christine Anne Shaw]

How wacky is that? Guess if it helps the environment it's got to be good.

[barleygirl]

I just read Einstein Noodle's poem, inspired by your poem, so I had to come check this out. As always, I am amazed at your fluid ability to put yourself in so many different shoes & perspectives! To me, this is the utmost in empathy (imagining how a mummy feels!) & it really adds depth & it's your HEART which adds authenticity to your writing (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Christine Anne Shaw]

Happy Easter Sunday Margie. Thanks for giving this poem an airing. I felt really uncomfortable as I walked round this mummy. Something just didn't feel right. I kept thinking she should have been laid to rest in a place other than a museum, where everyone was gloating at her.
Chris

[Fran Marie]

Rich or poor were all the same in dying..it matters not how important or unimportant in life we are..like the part where her riches couldn't buy her better health..a very well written piece.

[Christine Anne Shaw]

Many thanks Fran Marie. I appreciate your visit.

Chris

[The Black Penman]

I truly Enjoy you r style of Writing Christine.

[Christine Anne Shaw]

Hello there Black Penman. So good to see you and I am so pleased that you enjoy my poetry. That means a great deal.

Chris

[Dave]

This is such a thoughtful piece of writing. I never before gave a thought as to how a mummy might have felt about their being tucked away in a museum. In my years of teaching I taught about ancient Egypt and about their curious attitude toward death. Of course they saw themselves going on to the "Afterworld" and living a well deserved afterlife. I'm positive it didn't include being an object of curiosity in a far off museum.

Take care - Dave

[Christine Anne Shaw]

Thanks Dave. As I filed past with all the other visitors, I just got a really strange feeling. Although interested I felt like a voyeur and I felt uncomfortable, that I was looking at human remains. The poem stemmed from those feelings. Appreciate your response.

Chris

[Stella Armour]

Rest in peace, but she doesn't bless her .... who knows if she has awareness, and if she does how dreadful ..

[Christine Anne Shaw]

You have summed up how I felt Stella. Thank you.

Chris

[Carola]

i love your poetry, wonderful choice of words, great themes. you paint beautiful word pictures !
cheerio carola

[Christine Anne Shaw]

Carol, I am so pleased you enjoy my poetry. I am thankful for your visits. All good wishes.

Chris

[Einstein Noodle]

wow! well done Christine ...powerful social conscious awakening ... i watch things on TV ... have read articles ... seen some news casts about Mummies ... and shamefully never thought about the disregard for their burial rights .. at the forefront of my thinking is what an incredible "find" ... and to learn more about ancient civilizations ... i'm not sure that putting them back in their resting places is the best either tho ... i have the horrible feeling that worse people than geologists would be pawing all over them ... i love the voice of your poem ... Egyptians did believe in a "soul" from what i have read ... and that it was a perhaps complicated path that souls had to take .. hence the spells and directions written on the walls of tombs, coffins and later all the different "Books" ie "The Book of the Dead" ..all giving tips and directions for the soul to take ... they started to preserve bodies as a result of the belief that a persons soul may want to return to its body ... and so they started to mummify ;) i am not sure i would ever want to be the one to open those sites ... let alone extract things ... but better in the hands of museum caretakers than thieves of lesser ambitions
E.

[Christine Anne Shaw]

Dear Mr E, like yourself I am an avid fan of all those wonderful TV programmes about ancient finds. However watching from a TV screen, it didn't occur to me that I would feel any different if I was actually in the presence of a mummy. I did. I couldn't stop thinking about her as a person who had died, being oggled by strangers in a strange land. I just had to give her a voice. Thank you so much for your interest and response. It is always such a pleasure to have you visit. All good wishes.

Chris

[Einstein Noodle]

yeah .. i hear you ... my first thoughts when reading were of a touring display of Gunther von Hagens' skinned, human cadavers ...i was a working RN at the time and thought how interesting it must be ..but seeing it in person was very distressing .. and then later finding out all the bodies were taken from Chinese prisoners who had died and no one gave any consent to it at all .... creeps me out just thinking of it ..the only positives i got out of it were a healthy heart vs one loaded with cholesterol ... and the healthy lung vs. one from a smoker ... and the horse with rider was impressive .. but as a whole it was almost nauseating ....i wrote a poem called the mummy a while back but must have retired it from the Cafe' ...i think i will do a resurrection ... i will let you know ... you might enjoy it .. its a different theme altogether but very Egyptian ;)

[Christine Anne Shaw]

So interesting what you have written here. How awful that Chinese prisoners should end up that way, on display. Positively grisly. Yes I would very much like to read your poem. Let me know when you post it. Have a good day.

Chris