Ptolemy I

It is many centuries since I died
and now, in the museum,
where my image resides
I look at you,
through dark eyes, unblinking
my basalt mask
only hinting
at my glories in battle and war;
the original shock and awe,
for I was the general
of Alexander the Great.

You stare at me,
History,
full in the face.

Your bust of volcanic rock
was like a magnet to me,
more metal than stone
as I felt the pull of the poles,
Ptolemy.
I made a beeline for you,
on your dais,
ignoring other objects of great grace.
Your inscription says
you were found in a well.
How many secrets would you tell
if you could only speak to me?

Ptolemy.

Warren Paul Glover is a screenwriter, playwright, poet and actor living in Sydney. With a BA Hons in Sociology from the University of Greenwich, he worked in research and policy for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and Royal College of Nursing in London for a number of years. Courses in poetry, fiction and screenwriting at Edinburgh University preceded his move to Sydney in 2010, where he also studied playwriting at the Griffin Theatre Company. Warren’s plays, poetry and fiction have been performed and/or published in Australia, Britain, Ireland, Mexico, the UAE and US. Warren’s debut poetry collection, “Fashionably Late”, was published earlier this year, details of which can be found here.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to [email protected]. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.