Creation

by

Anthony Holmes

Vast expanse of endless ocean. Total silence rules this place.

Black as night and lacking motion. Realm of nothing; empty space.

Lacking joy as Nun surrounds me. Never-ending tedium.

My heart calls out for company in this lifeless medium.

                       

I tell my daughter, ‘Ma’at my dear, I will change this lifeless zone.

My power’s immense so have no fear. No longer will I live alone.

I’ll generate from my own seed the essence of a new born race!’

My child replies, ‘Make night recede! Make a sun to light the place.’

And so I caused the sun to be, light and heat that all would need.

I called it Ra, and all can see the wonder of my mystic deed.

I crafted gods to use my will. They shaped the world. Thoth and Ptah

And Atum-Ra revealed their skill, and Ra-Harakhte soared afar.

‘Twas they who made the gods so fair, creator gods they came to be.

Shu was first, god of the air. Of breeze and wind the god was he;

I then made Tefnut, storm and weather. She of moisture, rain and water.

Shu and Tefnut joined together, brought forth twins; a son and daughter.

The girl will be queen of the sky, beautiful Nut who rules above.

The earth was Geb who looked on high; saw his sister, fell in love.

Irate was Shu, tore Nut away. He ripped apart the sky and earth.

“You’ll not conceive on any day, nor will you two create a birth.”

For star-crossed lovers nothing worse, but Nut set out to win the day.

She could not thwart her father’s curse. There had to be another way.

She threw the dice with Thoth and won five extra days outside the year.

The first three days each bore a son, then she bore two daughters dear.

Osiris was the first born son with sky blue eyes whose skin was fair.

The next was Seth, the second one, the child of night with pitch black hair.

Haroeris next with power and drive. Isis followed, glorious star.

Nephthys brought the brood to five. Nut viewed her offspring from afar. 

The tale of Isis and her fate is taught to all and it is this:

Osiris was her chosen mate, but Seth destroyed their tale of bliss.

Murdered by his brother Seth, dissected by his brother’s hand,

Osiris was the guest of death, his body strewn across the land.

But Isis gathered every part, the task was grisely and grim.

The arms, the legs, even the heart. Nephthys helped to bind each limb.

The body whole but lacking life Isis called Atum for power.

Revived by god, she was his wife - a moment in a wedding bower.

Osiris having sown his seed once more returned to deathly state

Became the Lord of the deceased and sat in judgement there to wait.

When men die they give their heart, it’s weighed according to their deeds.

Those who pass the trial of Ma’at enter in the field of reeds.

Isis was soon to bear a son, the offspring of the twice dead Lord.

Horus was chosen as the one to challenge Seth to fight with sword.

The son and brother, toe to toe, fought long and hard in brutal war.

Both were hurt but not cast low, and when they stopped it was a draw.

Seth to rule the south was sent while Horus sat on Egypt’s throne.

The time of gods was quickly spent as mankind learned to rule alone.

Through magic words the tales of old relate the age of Pharaohs’ reign.

The gods now carved in stone and gold await the call to rule again.