APATHETIC James Nysse The embalmers then removed the organs of the abdomen and chest. . . They left only the heart in place, believing it to be the center of a person’s being and intelligence. Smithsonian - on Egyptian Mummies
And when I removed the dusted lid of the sarcophagus, I saw my own face, my own body.
I walked some endless miles away from my desert carrying my body on my back.
I was scaled and grotesque. My face - silenced and armored by torpid rags.
In a bubbling spring I dropped my black and shriveled heart, where sparks gathered to embrace it.
I found my heart in a jar near the back wall, black and shriveled.
I felt the earth crack and groan as my heart began to pulse and bleed.
Who had removed it?
I watched myself pull the rags from my eyes and mouth and took a long - new - breath.
Why was it removed?
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