Prose, Prayer and Poesy
we are an Iseum full of Poets and Writers and Musicians (and a stray artist)
here are a few of our samplings.....enjoy.
SONG OF ISIS
I am the Heart and Throne of Egypt,
Ruler and Queen of the Two Lands.
Red and royal is my long flowing robe,
The Holy Uraeus crowns my head.
With my breath, Osiris lives again;
My wings beat above him,
With words of power he lives again.
I am Isis, remember me, I am Isis.
I am the shimmering heat of the desert,
And the green banks of the Nile.
Fragile blue flowers, by the river
they rise,
they rise,
Gathered by gentle maidens in my name.
Laid upon my golden altars,
fragile blue flowers;
fragile blue flowers;
Their beauty sings my name.
I am Isis, remember me, I am Isis.
Libanum smokes from my holy altars,
Where songs flow and magic is made.
Timbrils and drums, harps and flutes
sing my praise,
sing my praise,
O I am the Holy Mother of the Two Lands,
My body is sacred Egypt,
her river, her lands,
her river, her lands,
Her people, they remember me.
I am Isis, remember Me, I am Isis.
Jennifer Reif
(previously published in The Isis Papers)
THIS IS PAGE ONE OF "OUR POETRY SCROLL" and is dedicated to the NETJERS. (deities of Ancient Egypt).
PLEASE CLICK HERE OR BELOW FOR MORE INSPIRING PAGAN/SPIRITUAL POEMS, PRAYERS AND PROSE...
The Second Gift
Millennia ago
(how long we do not know,
for we had then no way to record the passage of time)
the Father of Language
penned the first Book.
penned the first Book.
Because he was a god,
the fiery words he drew
the fiery words he drew
upon the finest papyrus
could be read by anyone,
indeed, they branded the souls
of our ancestors,
of our ancestors,
imparting the greatest gift since fire.
(And how would we know who gave
us fire, were it not for Thoth's boon?)
David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Nephthys: A Memory and a Recollection
(At an Isis Full Moon Ritual, She stood by my side as the door to the four directions were opened with an ankh. She whispered instructions in my ear, as softly as a breath of wind beneath the moonlit parorama, and I finally understood the majesty and the modesty of Isis' darker sister. Nephthys: so subtle She seems to disappear into the shadows cast by a crescent moon, so pale and luminous that she fills my life with inner light. This poem is for Her.)
Insubstantial enough to be your shadow,
sallow enough to be your shade,
Whe we stand side by side, I disappear into your brightness.
My appearance runs together like paints spilled into one another,
transformed from vivid, to dark, to nearly nondescript.
Yet the Elders tell me I resemble you, royal sister, Queen of Light,
with you son the Sky God on one arm
and your Eternal Lover on the other,
and your Eternal Lover on the other,
the puzzle you reassembled when he was pulled asunder
by his own dark brother.
by his own dark brother.
One moonless night, I perfumed and braided my hair
with flower blossoms.
with flower blossoms.
Lavished my face and body with rare colours and essences
from small jars that concealed the sight and scent of magic,
Draped myself in an embroidered garment you discarded
for loose threads or tiny snags.
In your garden, I lay in wait for the soulmate
after whom I yearned ceaselessly,
after whom I yearned ceaselessly,
the one who belonged to you alone, oh shining sister:
My beloved Osiris, who only loved me when he mistook me for you.
Stefania Ebony
(published in The Isis Papers)
All submissions appear with the gracious permission of the authors and may not be reproduced without their permission. Images used at this website are from www.sanfords.net. or stuff Nyx scanned in!
Djehuti
I take measures
to see that there is accuracy,
he says. I have never enjoyed
the math.
I am a creature of language:
This you decided, Scribe,
when you gave me voice
and pen and page.
My own preference
would have included date wine
and my lovely wife Sesheta
enjoying the poolside sun
with her paperback novel
at your desert oasis
while I watched the roulette wheel
for illegal tampering
and forced myself not to read
another's poker hand.
But that was not to be:
My colleague Mayet and I
have work to do,
and your death depends upon it.
Trust me: you wouldn't like it
if I forgot to write down your
negative confession: "I have not stolen,
I have not committed murder," et al.
And after you have done
I must see that the answers
are carefully recorded
in the book of your heart
so that it may be weighed
lighter than a showgirl's
feathered headdress,
and the face of Ausar
will then be yours to see,
beyond the stars. Trust me on this:
it'll be a better afterlife
than Forever Plaid.
Now, shu! I must
get back to work.
--Denise Dumars
dedicated to Karen Romanko
Golden One
Mistress of Goddesses
Come in Peace
and bring Beauty to the Land
Gods and men acclaim you
Goddesses and women play sistra for you
Sweetest One
Lady of Inebrity
Come in Joy
and bring Beauty to the Land
Gods and men adore you
Goddesses and women dance for you
Return to us, return to Edfu
Come in Love and bring Beauty to the Land
Nyx (inspired by a celebratory prayer to Hathor.)
Click the "Mew" for Page II !