One Pharaoh To Another

Oh, Thutmose, what have you done?
Covering my name with slabs of clay,
erasing my image,
erasing my rule.

By Isis and Ra,
by the holy Aten disk,
what have you done?
Why is my land so barren,
why does war reap so horridly,
why, oh why, must you cover my name?

Things never needed to return,
no one told you my rule was evil.
You declared that yourself,
and then you declared war.

You know, I wore my fake beard
for the benefit of those like you,
those so against the rule of a woman,
who wished for that of a man.

I have done no wrong here,
I swear by goddess Ma'at
and her Feather Of Truth,
I have done no wrongs.
For in my rule, there was peace,
and in yours, war.

What wrongs you have made,
dear, Pharaoh Thutmose,
what war has scathed your land?
What famine has wreathed your muddled mind,
your heart as black
as the Kohl 'round your eyes?

When my dear husband died,
when the heir was far too young,
why shouldn't I have declared myself Pharaoh?
Why shouldn't I have ruled?
Just because I was born a woman?

But you declaim this horrid,
and after my death,
you bury my name,
you build walls around my monuments,
you destroy my life's work.

And where has that left you?
Unworthy of your name,
Thoth Is Born.
Bah! Thoth? I see no wisdom in those tired eyes.

First Among Noble Women, am I,
and I am worthy of my name.
You, oh, Thutmose, have ravaged this land.
And my name,
my name may be covered,
my name may be hidden 
under those layers and layers of clay,
but I know I'm not forgotten.
For here I am, walking the Field Of Reeds,
and where are you?

I should ask Hathor
to heal your land,
un-warp your battered mind,
but you've done this to yourself.
Fight your wars, oh, Pharaoh,
and I will fight mine.

But I must remind you,
your wars spill blood
and mine bring peace.
Who is better remembered,
oh Thutmose?
You, unwise and unworthy?
Or I, who brought peace and prosperity?

Now tell me,
will your life be remembered as great,
will your name be chanted 
across the sacred river?
Will Bast grant you a life of love
or will you be Set's slave?
Will sins weigh down your heart
when you meet Osiris
and are weighed against
Ma'at's sacred Feather Of Truth?
Or will it be devoured by Ammut?
Dooming you to eternal death.

Now, Thutmose,
how many will remember you as great?
Will you be known as Thutmose: 
Greatest of all Pharaohs?
Or will they remember me?
Trust me on this, trust me,
my name has not been forgotten,
My name 
-Hatshepsut-
shall never parish.

From one Pharaoh to another,
I swear you have my word.