Coming+Forth+by+Day

Coming Forth by Day

"The forepaw of a lion, the forearm of a man, the primal ray of the sun. I wake in the dark to the stirring of birds, a murmur in the trees, a flutter of wings. It is the morning of my birth, the first of many. The past lies knotted in its sheets asleep. Winds blow, flags above the temple ripple. Out of darkness the earth spins toward light. I feel a change coming. My thoughts flicker, glow a moment and catch fire. I come forth by day singing.

Blessed are the cattle asleep in the fields. They shake their horns, tearing the dream. Blessed are the bulls waking, their first thoughts of creation. This day I make myself anew. I create life; my flesh coils about me foot to head. My breath rushes through my body and my blood. The world whirls beneath the sun. I burn like a god aflame, sail my barque upstream at dawn, pushing on quietly among the reeds, softly.

For you I light a fire in the sky. My love dispels darkness. I am born of sky, filled with light. I darken. I am as various as weather. I am predictable as sunrise, moonset, the winds that blow, breathtaking as the Great Star (Sirius) rising. I am a thought that came to pass. I am love and shall endure forever. I am heading home.

I am an old tree by the Nile banks. A thousand birds nested in my branches and beneath, women cool themselves from the sun. Years passed. I grew slowly and with grace. This earth I love, this water, this sky. Tomorrow I fall and, at last, the women shall make passage across the river. They will speak for the first time in years to the women on the opposite bank. They will clasp hands and hold their voices to whispers. They shall marvel at each other's faces. And that will be as good a death as any for me, with women weeping, lotuses blooming, and cool breezes blowing. That will be a victory. And so on, though the ages, have I been useful and loved.

I come forth by day. I go out burning. To the end, I burn white with heat. I am as joyful as a stone. I am of the world. I am magic. I am air and flame, water and dust. I am a wick burning in a blue bowl of oil, a fiery sun rising in a tranquil sky. I am the phoenix. I am light. I come forth by day. I am heat burning up mist. I am power, an ancient river overflowing. I am love and memory and sorrow that drift away.

I went the circuitous path of the unseen, from nothing but thought into becoming. I am anointed with oil. The power shivers from my heart down into my arms. I am more than my parts. This blood flows back to the river like water. This flesh dries, it cracks and scatters, dust again. When the light in my eyes flickers out, the spark flies back to the flaming heart of the gods. I come and go out of the fire unchanged.

My time is a reflection on the surface of water. A leaf falls and the dream shatters, breaks to pieces; the leaf drifts off. Slowly the waters calm and draw themselves together. And the leaf's life, like a thought, passes from me on the ripple of its own vibration. It enters the world. I am a priest of the heart. I know what is mine to feel. I let the rain from heaven fill me. I give love away as easily as water.

I am changeable, yes. A hummingbird's wings beat so fast he seems to fly standing still. The solid earth like a baby is lifted up to be kissed, to be blessed and set down again. I have read the books of magic and made offerings of incense. I have longed to be free, to rise up as smoke from earth into air. I am a priest of change.

I am a priest of love. Beneath the moon my barque rocks gently. I scoop up fish by the fistful and feed the ibis outside the temple. I weave my garlands of onions and flowers on feast days. I plant my seeds and carry a statue of god though the fields to bless them. I drag the large stone to higher ground and write prayers to last forever, songs to gods and creations, women and kings.

O spirits that guide a man through the dark halls at death, guide me safely in life past sorrow and hopelessness, steer me from fear and anger. Let me always know the reason for my becoming. Let me hear what gods hear, see what gods see. When the sun is blotted from the sky, let even a small light shine to guide a man's feet. Let me stand in light, bathe myself in light, clothe myself in light. Let me sit in the lap of gods and hear words of comfort. Let my spirit be stronger today than it was yesterday, my heart more peaceful, my mind more fertile, my hands more gentle. Let gods touch my face. Let me go forth shining. Let my feet know the way. Let me walk and pass though fire. For I have made a reckoning of myself, things I have done and said and of my intentions; And I love for nothing but to live as a light within, to come forth by day with the gods singing."

Spells for the Afterlife