Skilled in magic and
funerary matters,
Thoth is the moon
god of Egypt and
sacred to him is the ibis.
Long after sunset
I saw seven ibises
fly in a line,
low over the waters
of the Nile.
They followed a path
laid down by the moon
to bring them home safe
to Thoth.
Alone out of time
in my mind’s eye
still they fly
as they always flew
low, over the Nile
in single file
homeward to Thoth, who dwells
in a beautiful house
at the further end
of the silver path to the moon.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Great work, Peter. I studied Thoth for some time and have the Budge translation of the Egyptian 'Book of The Dead'. I saw from your bio that you've studied egyptology as well, but I'm wondering if you are aware that Thoth is actually a later represtentation of the antedeluvian Enoch,7th firstborn of the line of Adam. His representation was given an Ibis head to signify his 'purging' Egypt of snakes (the symbol of the ruling elite class during his time, the 'fallen angels' (remember the 'serpent' in the tree...) . The Book of The Dead was the writing Enoch (also associated with the moon) did at their behest when God refused their supplications for forgiveness in transgressing His commands just over 6000 years ago. The Ethiopic version of 'The Book of Enoch' is the best source for confirming this. If you have the oportunity to investigate it, let me know what you think! As for your poem, I truly enjoyed the visuals, but the deeper and more obscure meanings and connections it makes made it worth a second read! Thanks!