The Eyes of Cleopatra
أنا السقاة إلى كليوباترا الامبراطورة
Renaissance ~ Second Edition
Yes, I have a few moments to speak.
But be brief please
for The Empress is due to appear
and I am Cupbearer to the Empress.
Cleopatra is Queen
but she has a vision of becoming
Empress of the entire world …
If Mark Antony has his way,
Her Majesty will of course achieve this.
But it is by no means certain,
hence being cupbearer to the Empress
rather than to the Queen.
Her Majesty is cunning, full of guile
and she is planting into the minds of
men who should know better
the seeds of giving in to Her Majesty.
Me? Yes that is a good question.
I am an Angle from across the seas,
and a subjugated people
and my white hair fascinates the Queen.
But it is my eyes too that her courtiers
use to embellish and paint
and then present me as a mirror image
of the eyes they feel she would best
like to portray on any given day
And yes, it is painful.
Sore even. The pigments are very
irritating at times.
But she is surprisingly kind
despite being ruthless.
Hark! I must away.
The horns sound.
Love making has ceased
in the lower courts
and soon Her Majesty will pass by
and I must be ready.
The sun is high today
and I suspect she will be wanting
to see a very dark blue-black pigment
going to an ultra fine point on the outer eyes.
… … … No.
I am not permitted to have eyes
for anyone.
But between us both
there is this most beautiful Egyptian courtier.
He is not a slave, he is a palm bearer
and like me, he is tall, like you in fact
Bronzed, from Troy
and he has a beautiful sense of humour
but it is all in the eyes.
Why of course.
His eyes are painted deep red-blue
to a very fine point.
A warrior too.
I must away
Let us meet another day
A Person approaches.
Gourmet Coffee, Exchange Flags, Liverpool
Written March 23, 2013 3.10pm-3.21pm
Kenneth Thomas Webb
Liverpool
July 8, 2021
All Rights Reserved
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© Kenneth Thomas Webb 2021
One of the Fifteen Founding Members of Leaders Lodge
Ken Webb is a writer and proofreader. His website, kennwebb.com, showcases his work as a writer, blogger and podcaster, resting on his successive careers as a police officer, progressing to a junior lawyer in succession and trusts as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, a retired officer with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and latterly, for three years, the owner and editor of two lifestyle magazines in Liverpool.
He also just handed over a successful two year chairmanship in Gloucestershire with Cheltenham Regency Probus.
Pandemic aside, he spends his time equally between his city, Liverpool, and the county of his birth, Gloucestershire.
In this fast-paced present age, proof-reading is essential. And this skill also occasionally leads to copy-editing writers’ manuscripts for submission to publishers and also student and post graduate dissertations.
