Wednesday 13 April 2016

K is for the King




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 





48 comments:

  1. Yay for the Egyption Kings - proof that you Kan (sorry) taKe it with you, even if someone takes it away again later.
    And 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :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.

      Delete
  2. That 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.

    ~Ninja Minion Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
    Story Dam
    Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grave robbers got there pretty KwiK all the same :)

      Delete
  3. I really don't want my innards pickled...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I guess if your king you get the best, a tomb that lasts for centuries.

    Susan Says

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Limericks apart, they are absolutely awesome monuments and the science behind the pickling is also nothing to laugh at!

      Delete
  5. Hahaha :D Let's hear it for the pickled Pharaohs...

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    The Multicolored Diary
    MopDog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :D I am hoping to hear about them from you as well...

      Delete
  6. Pickled 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!
    Happy A to Z!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 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...

      Happy A to Z to you too!

      Delete
  7. Loved the graphic nature of your poetry!

    @Samantha/samratkel from
    Shadow Realities


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. and here I thought I put it as euphemistically as possible :D

      Thanks for visiting!

      Delete
  8. Replies
    1. More painful for the person doing the actual mummification eww!

      Delete
  9. What a funny way to teach kids about a Mummy. Its less spooky if they imagine a pickle!! :D
    Love it.

    Cheers,
    Seena

    #AtoZChallenge - K is for Kicks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 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!

      Cheers, catch you later.

      Delete
  10. English is most quirky. Good observation of pickled innards. I've always thought the Egyptian funerary practices were most gross.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They certainly are by today's standards.

      People 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

      Delete
  11. 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 ...

    Congratulations on a great K .. cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Hilary for being here!...missing you this A-Z!! Hope all is going well with you.

      Delete
  12. lol for a second,it reminded me of the childrens song.."This old man" :) :)
    well you are right....what are these silent alphebets doing in English ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Correct! Language is meant for speaking, not standing there silent and useless :)

      Delete
  13. A lovely piece of writing, Nilanjana. Thank you so much for writing it for us. An interesting concept - pickling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did 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

      Thanks, Nicola!

      Delete
  14. 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!
    @KalaRavi16 from
    Relax-N-Rave

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, the mummies kurse and all that :) kwite korrect

      Delete
  15. I like your K conundrum.......no matter what you know the language

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I 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!

      Delete
  16. Chuckles! Innovative brilliance in your limericks Nilan! A lot of pre-thinking in your K Kuestions obviously!

    Hank

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. English is a kwirky language, as Anne has said above. Even the Knative speakers don't have the answers :)

      Delete
  17. K is also for Kathleen. When I saw "King" I naturally thought "Elvis." Glad I was wrong.

    Meet My Imaginary Friends
    #AtoZchallenge http://www.kathleenvalentineblog.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elvis has been 'pickled' too, just in a different way

      Delete
  18. A good subject for poetry indeed

    And many thanks again for calling by
    The result of which is I have arrived
    to say Hi

    Enjoy the rest of the journey.

    ReplyDelete
  19. The 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?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My 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..

      Delete
  20. Well done, as always, appreciate you sharing
    keep up the great expression

    ReplyDelete