Louise Taylor – Human remains, papyrus, pulp, wood and paint: from Ancient Egypt to the Ashmolean

Human remains, papyrus, pulp, wood and paint: from Ancient Egypt to the Ashmolean

This impossible knowledge that you seek,
is it here among the gawping, masticating
crowds?
Perhaps you’ve found it in the nicely-coloured papers you consult
or the gentleman’s voice flowing, as the Nile, into your ears.
Did you glimpse it even as your breath clouded
my glassy tomb?
Rub a spy-hole, why not
admire what was never meant for you:

Here are my painted eyes,
my scarlet lips,
my golden breasts.
I am no chrysalis; I am butterfly on the outside
and pupa within.

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Louise Taylor’s poetry is often inspired by the natural world, history, mythology or some combination of the three. Publication credits include Synaesthesia, the Woven Tale Press, Silent Voices and Bonnie’s Crew. She is co-editor of Words for the Wild and tweets occasionally at @Sar1skaTiger.