Ancestral faces
gaze intently
as one slowly walks
in the manner of museums
through the exhibits.

Here is an uncle
Here is an aunt
Here is mother
at a tender young age,
caught in the lense of time
by artists long dead
preparing them
for the return of the soul.

This curly haired neighbour
cut down in his youth
and mummified
 covered
with a vibrant portrait
of life,
the  girl
ready to speak
and walk away
from the sepulchre,

they call me,

and my genes respond
to these faces,
clamoring for recognition
of the only true
reincarnation,
on the crest
of Now.

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click here for Fayum
 and then choose "roman portraits from Egypt"
to see a compilation of all the museums' fayum