John
Daleiden, US
Voices from
the Past
an ancient
column
from Cleopatra's temple—
reclaimed treasure
once she walked this courtyard—
distant echoes of the past
did you cry at night
afraid your heart might break?
the glitter of gold
Notes:
198
"Voices from the
Past" is based on an AP news story published on the
internet on 2009-12-17: "Monument lifted from Cleopatra's
underwater
city" posted on
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_egypt_sunken_treasures
Verse 2: Once,
long ago, 2,050 years ago, this "ancient column" was a
part of the palace complex of Cleopatra, the 1st Century B.C.
Queen of
the Ptolemaic dynasty, a powerful Egyptian ruler. In the 1990's
the
column was found submerged in Alexandria's harbor. Archeologist
believe
an earthquake toppled this ancient palace complex into the sea
during
the 4th century. Now, the 9-ton, 7.4-foot-tall pylon, covered
with muck
and seaweed, has been recovered from the murky waters of the
Mediterranean. Many granite temple pylons lined a courtyard
where
Cleopatra and others walked. The ancient artifact suggests
"echoes"
from past history.
Verse 1 details the artifact and the recovery process; through
Archeologists, the remnant is connected to real people in past
history,
Queen Cleopatra of Ancient Egypt.
Verse 3 imagines a scene in the life of the adolescent ruling
Queen of
Egypt. Cleopatra, a popular figure of western literature and
culture, was
fabled to be an exotic beauty. Her legacy is preserved in
dramatizations
and the current media. Her persona is represented in many works:
William
Shakespeare's tragedy, Antony and Cleopatra, Jules Massenet's
opera,
Cleopatre, the 1963 Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton film,
Cleopatra, and
George Bernard Shaw's play, Caesar and Cleopatra.
Most depictions portray Cleopatra as a young adolescent woman of
great
beauty who has successive conquests with some of the world's
most
powerful men; these liaisons are thought to be proof of her
aesthetic and
sexual appeal. Ahh, if only the "purple" barge could be
resurrected!
The composition process in this renhai was 2, 1, 3, working from
the
middle outward, the originally designed process established by
Renhai
creator Vaughn Seward.
