Contemplating the Face of Nefertiti

author's note:

I’ve only seen the famous sculpture of Nefertiti in a picture book.

But I don’t think that makes my response any less authentic.

CONTEMPLATING THE FACE OF NEFERTITI

The moment I saw that face
it seemed quite alien to me.

So of course
I wished to peer into its mystery

but could not penetrate.

However, as I tried
I began to sense
my own depths again:

as I felt her silence, I felt my silence
and found a palatial dark elegance
below the junkyard of my thoughts.

Her enigma was the enigma
of this strange life of ours.

Since then
I’ve returned again and again
to that opaque face--
a face that refuses to tell me
its secrets

while boldly proclaiming
a truth deeper
than any I’ve expressed
with these words I’ve stitched together.

33 1/3 New Fables & Myth: ebook
© 2021, Michael R. Patton