Knowing
The world flows in, I ball it up,
I bounce it here and there;
I play with it like string and cup
and toss it in the air.
The world flows in, I shape it so,
I build with it like clay,
and then I outward let it flow,
returned to light of day.
The Words of Ameny
The collected words, the gathered verses,
the heart-searching utterances
of the priest of Elephantopolis,
Ameny son of Ankhu:
The realm is destroyed and none care;
none weep the end, nor do any speak it.
None are free from evildoing, no, not one;
all do it and all suffer it.
Some are learned enough to understand it;
none are roused enough to speak against it.
Everyone only loves their own utterances;
crooked of heart, all honest speech is abandoned.
Each mouth says only, "I want."
What past ages built is torn and ruined;
rebuke is answered with knife in the belly.
May Thoth, the god-appeaser, vindicate me;
may Khonsu, who reckons Truth, favor me;
may Irdes in the holy place defend me!
As for men, their hearts are selfish;
as for men, their hearts are unsteady.
The brother is unveiled as an enemy;
to find an honest man, one must find a stranger.
Every face is set against every face.
Evil roams the land; no end can be found to it.
Where is found recover for the sick?
Where is found wind for the sail?
Where is found homecoming after long journey?
Where is found the land where men are living gods?
Seek out the answer, even if you weep;
life is transitory, but the wise seek what endures.
