I think this poem was influenced by reflecting on a fact learned today. While studying the Egyptian adze, I learned a meteor had hit near one of the regions whose people were devoted to Set even as late as Roman times. The 'metal of Set' is that meteoric iron. When Plutarch spoke of Set, "with a blow he broke through his mother's side and leapt forth," no doubt he was referring to this meteor which tore through the womb of Nuit. The adze, a tool used in the 'opening of the mouth' ceremony, is made of this iron. I think of the opening of the mouth like the opening of consciousness itself. Until the realization, thunder-struck, opened my mind, I had no words with which to speak. Holding words, but not knowing how to put them together, the puzzle begins. It is of origins, from heaven to earth. But we are all 'within heaven', as we rest on an orbiting ball through the realms of Nuit. She holds us all. I am not spinning, the earth is spinning. If I seem at the center, then so does everyone else, from where each rests. What is rushing by me? Time I cannot touch. Must I rush? I cannot slow the earth's spinning. Somewhere a truth is being born. It, too, will take time before it can speak. I hope I shall not rush by, oblivious to its soft voice. Pdf version of the poem is available Tuesday, June 30, 2009 "Horemheb as a Scribe" 9:13pm I've been busy adding photos to the Met museum gallery. Here's one of my favorites: Haremheb as a Scribe of the King Dynasty 18, reign of Tutankhamun or Ay, (ca. 1336-1323 BCE) Gray granite, H. 113 cm (44 1/2 in); w. 71 cm (27 15/16 in); d. 55.5 cm (21 7/8 in) Probably from Memphis Gift of Mr. and Mrs. V. Everit Macy, 1923, (23.10.1) From info card: "Haremhab [aka Horemhab], a great general and a powerful official under Kings Tutankhamun and Ay, is bending over a papyrus scroll on which he has written a hymn to the god Thoth, patron of scribes. Around the base is an inscription listing several of Haremhab's titles and accomplishments. Not long after this statue was carved, Haremhab assumed the throne as the last king of Dynasty 18. Although not of royal descent himself, he may have established a connection to the royal family of the Eighteenth Dynasty by marrying Queen Nefertiti's sister Mutnedjmet. "Haremhab's features offer an excellent example of the style that emerged with the reign of Tutankhamun: youthful, distant, and elegantly beautiful, with very defined and formal elements. Although his drooping belly is attributable to the style of the Amarna period, his body is in fact intended to be that of a middle-aged scribe, grown flabby and bowed by a life of constant study. Since the time of the pyramids, very great officials had themselves represented as scribes, implying their rich wisdom." Um, it's that 'life of constant study' to blame, (and not those bowls of ice cream and cookies I ate while studying??) Also, Horemheb appears more 'withdrawn to the contemplative life', rather than 'distant'. If you're curious about that piece behind Horemheb's statue, it is a beautiful collar: Broad Collar Dynasty 18, reign of Akhenaten, ca. 1353-1336 BCE Faience, (modern stringing) Rogers Fund, 1949 (40.2.5)