Passport Photo Fit for a Pharaoh
an archaeological poem with a photo finish
by Joe Váradi
Ramesses II — a badass ruler
Among pharaohs, few were cooler
Not one to back down from a fight
Vanquished he Nubian, Hittite
Was the big man by the Red Sea,
Most of Thirteenth Cent’ry, B.C.
Age did catch up with the old man
Was ninety when he kicked the can
Royally embalmed, when he died
For millennia — mummified
Discovered in the 1880s
Still in one piece, good old Ramesses
In a Cairo museum — lay in state
… and continued to deteriorate
He slept through the Six-Day War
But, by Nineteen Seventy-Four
His minders had at last decided
To Paris his corpse must be guided
For an expert intervention
Proper chemical attention
One last obstacle to clear:
Egypt’s laws were quite austere
Documents strictly required
Even for trav’lers expired!
Thus did Ramesses — precious cargo —
Travel by air, “papered”, although
Hardly with a flattering photo!
All this actually happened! Follow the link below the photo for more details.
