The Passing Poem by Sadiqullah Khan

The Passing



The passing is a boat's voyage
Days and nights like trees on bank
Look for stories, ‘be the looking'.
With wide open lids, gaze the face,
Such reckonings seldom on horizons
Peak, such nights never so dark.
Snake-charmer beware the poison,
And like in life-less snake's eyes,
Behold the image. She is an asp -
Charm her to muse, to wave,
Like a stem in the soft gentle breeze.
Such reckless games we play in love,
Not knowing who's charmer, who's snake.

Sadiqullah Khan
Islamabad
January 21,2015.

Saturday, January 24, 2015
Topic(s) of this poem: love and art
POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
Cleopatra VII Philopator (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ; 69 - August 12,30 BC) , known to history simply as 'Cleopatra', was the last active pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, only shortly survived by her son, Caesarion as pharaoh.
Cleopatra was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Macedonian Greek origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period. The Ptolemies, throughout their dynasty, spoke Greek and refused to speak Egyptian, which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian languages were used on official court documents such as the Rosetta Stone. By contrast, Cleopatra did learn to speak Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian goddess, Isis.
Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, and later with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she married as per Egyptian custom, but eventually she became sole ruler. As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. She later elevated her son with Caesar, Caesarion, to co-ruler in name.
After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesar's legal heir, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (later known as Augustus) . With Antony, she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios, and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus (her unions with her brothers had produced no children) . After losing the Battle of Actium to Octavian's forces, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra followed suit, according to tradition killing herself by means of an asp bite on August 12,30 BC. She was briefly outlived by Caesarion, who was declared pharaoh by his supporters but soon killed on Octavian's orders. Egypt became the Roman province of Aegyptus. Wikipedia

Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. Painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme
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