Meg Smith
Ambassador of Bastet
Egyptian Museum, Cairo, November 2015
She leads me,
a sentinel, in her stride--
green eyes, gray stripes,
all diplomacy,
but true to her direction.
All around, visitors gaze
at Tutankhamun's gold.
But, she beckons me
to her purpose--
a glass case, filled
with figures in her image,
each a temple in itself.
What becomes of a goddess
and her children of hunger?
I know the answer
awaits outside.
With soft feet, and straight tails,
These emissaries
gather around a guard.
He is sharing his lunch with them.
They form a circle, like rays,
around him.
They, and he, look up
to a single, sacred sun.
Meg Smith is a writer, journalist, dancer and events producer living in Lowell, Mass. Her poetry has recently appeared in The Cafe Review, Poetry Bay, Polarity, Raven Cage, Beliveau Review, and many more. She is the author of five poetry books. Her first short fiction collection, The Plague Confessor, is due out in fall 2020 from Emu Books.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo, November 2015
She leads me,
a sentinel, in her stride--
green eyes, gray stripes,
all diplomacy,
but true to her direction.
All around, visitors gaze
at Tutankhamun's gold.
But, she beckons me
to her purpose--
a glass case, filled
with figures in her image,
each a temple in itself.
What becomes of a goddess
and her children of hunger?
I know the answer
awaits outside.
With soft feet, and straight tails,
These emissaries
gather around a guard.
He is sharing his lunch with them.
They form a circle, like rays,
around him.
They, and he, look up
to a single, sacred sun.
Meg Smith is a writer, journalist, dancer and events producer living in Lowell, Mass. Her poetry has recently appeared in The Cafe Review, Poetry Bay, Polarity, Raven Cage, Beliveau Review, and many more. She is the author of five poetry books. Her first short fiction collection, The Plague Confessor, is due out in fall 2020 from Emu Books.