 |
| is for King |
the King’s pickle
The King of Egypt, known as the Pharaoh,
had his innards pickled and his
bone marrow
dried after death and preserved;
in Giza his tomb can be observed -
it starts off wide, but then
pointedly narrows.
I wonder why his friend and
architect
thought building straight was somehow a defect?
Or was it a monumental
metaphor for the central
premise that all things fall in
once they’re erect?
K is also for Knack and Knock and Knee and Knowledge - as a Knon-Knative, sorry, non-native speaker of English, this silent K business used to make me go Knock-kneed and cross-eyed as a child. Utterly, Kompletely Konfusing? Why is it there if no-one is going to pronounce it? Why is it there at all in the alphabet when C and Que-endings are doing half its work anyways? Why does English have 3 Konsonants which are essentially doing the same job? Any Kind souls here who'll get me out of this Kwandary?
Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2016
Yay for the Egyption Kings - proof that you Kan (sorry) taKe it with you, even if someone takes it away again later.
ReplyDeleteAnd the English language is a mystery - even to native speakers.
Where else could ghoti be pronounced fish. Gh as in tough, O as in women, Ti as in station.
Krazy.
:D yes, it does seem a bit Krazy when you spell it like that...in my language the word 'ghoti' pronounced as is would mean a water pot/pitcher.
DeleteSorry, I don't Know!
ReplyDeleteHave you asked Iron Munro? he might!! :D
DeleteThat made me chuckle. Although, I think the reason they didn't build straight was to confuse grave robbers. Get them lost by zig zagging and having fake passages.
ReplyDelete~Ninja Minion Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author
Grave robbers got there pretty KwiK all the same :)
DeleteI really don't want my innards pickled...
ReplyDeleteNope, I should think Knot, oops I mean, not
DeleteI guess if your king you get the best, a tomb that lasts for centuries.
ReplyDeleteSusan Says
Limericks apart, they are absolutely awesome monuments and the science behind the pickling is also nothing to laugh at!
Deletegood post
ReplyDeleteThanks
DeleteHahaha :D Let's hear it for the pickled Pharaohs...
ReplyDelete@TarkabarkaHolgy from
The Multicolored Diary
MopDog
:D I am hoping to hear about them from you as well...
DeletePickled Pharaohs, such an unnatural thing. Dealing with the dead a mysterious search for with so many looking for an afterlife in bodies instead of the energy that truly makes up the universe. In my book it's not ashes to ashes but energy back to energy!
ReplyDeleteHappy A to Z!
Got to admire the science and art and gory details, though! :D I guess they were dealing with it as best as they could...so agree with you about energy back to energy...
DeleteHappy A to Z to you too!
Loved the graphic nature of your poetry!
ReplyDelete@Samantha/samratkel from
Shadow Realities
and here I thought I put it as euphemistically as possible :D
DeleteThanks for visiting!
Innards picked? Sounds painful!
ReplyDeleteMore painful for the person doing the actual mummification eww!
DeleteWhat a funny way to teach kids about a Mummy. Its less spooky if they imagine a pickle!! :D
ReplyDeleteLove it.
Cheers,
Seena
#AtoZChallenge - K is for Kicks
If you can ignore the goriness of it all, it is quite a fascinating subject...we pickle stuff nowadays too, all those specimens in formalin - pickled!
DeleteCheers, catch you later.
English is most quirky. Good observation of pickled innards. I've always thought the Egyptian funerary practices were most gross.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly are by today's standards.
DeletePeople in ancient times had a totally different attitude to body parts and innards and death generally...sensibilities less refined, everyone more used to seeing blood and gore on a regualr basis
Hi Nila - what a great tale ... now when I see Egyptian burials (as we do here quite often) I shall think of all kings in a pickle ...
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on a great K .. cheers Hilary
Thanks Hilary for being here!...missing you this A-Z!! Hope all is going well with you.
Deletelol for a second,it reminded me of the childrens song.."This old man" :) :)
ReplyDeletewell you are right....what are these silent alphebets doing in English ;)
Correct! Language is meant for speaking, not standing there silent and useless :)
DeleteA lovely piece of writing, Nilanjana. Thank you so much for writing it for us. An interesting concept - pickling.
ReplyDeleteDid the king get into a pickle over how his innards would be pickled? Did he get into a bind? A knot? I hope not. :D
DeleteThanks, Nicola!
God rest the Pharoahs in peace along with all their innards,pickled and all! You don't want to invite the wrath of the Mummies do you girl? Very testy kreatures these ancient Egytians I tell you! Totally LOL!
ReplyDelete@KalaRavi16 from
Relax-N-Rave
Yeah, the mummies kurse and all that :) kwite korrect
DeleteI like your K conundrum.......no matter what you know the language
ReplyDeleteI don't think I know it very well...and its a moot question whether any knon knative speakers would want to get on intimate terms with a language this kwirky..or whether they should!
DeleteChuckles! Innovative brilliance in your limericks Nilan! A lot of pre-thinking in your K Kuestions obviously!
ReplyDeleteHank
English is a kwirky language, as Anne has said above. Even the Knative speakers don't have the answers :)
DeleteK is also for Kathleen. When I saw "King" I naturally thought "Elvis." Glad I was wrong.
ReplyDeleteMeet My Imaginary Friends
#AtoZchallenge http://www.kathleenvalentineblog.com/
Elvis has been 'pickled' too, just in a different way
DeleteA good subject for poetry indeed
ReplyDeleteAnd many thanks again for calling by
The result of which is I have arrived
to say Hi
Enjoy the rest of the journey.
Oh, I am! and wish you much enjoyment too!
DeleteThe K isn't silent, you Knufflebunny! As everyone Knows, it's a voiceless velar plosive! No, I have no idea what that phrase means, but a quick Google search informs me that in the "kn" combo, both letters were pronounced in Old English, but over time the pronunciation of the K gradually fell away just because it was easier that way. I get that, you Know?
ReplyDeleteMy god, that answer is more panic-inducing than not knowing!! What on earth is a voiceless ve8*^ pl*$%"@#? The only thing I got in that was the falling away bit..
DeleteNice!
ReplyDeleteThanks
DeleteWell done, as always, appreciate you sharing
ReplyDeletekeep up the great expression
Glad you liked it, thanks for visiting
DeleteErect. Heh, heh.
ReplyDelete:D
Delete