Poetry: waking up in Egypt

The Egyptians Gods have joined me
here in this room on this cruise on the Nile
their animal heads bob along
the edges of the room animated
with their energy:

falcon headed Horus of royalty
jackal headed Anubis of mummification, messenger of the underworld
ibis headed Thot of wisdom, god of writing and patron of scribes
others too of course
their names escape me but
their images do not.

There is Ramesses the Second
and his wife Nefertari, the pretty one
they are here too

and the walls of my room are now stone
and the roof of my room is now stone
and now descending
and now encroaching
and they are coaching
they are whispering   whispering
they are hissing
the animal headed gods
are disappearing fading

Ramses stays and stays
they are telling me to listen
he is saying to speak

I hear
“eyeyam eyeyam eyeyam”
I discern
“I AM I AM I AM”
“I am” I say I repeat
“I am coming I am coming”
I hear I repeat I shout it now
that is what I know
“I am what I am” echoes
and I repeat it aloud.

The stone walls that threatened
retreat
Ramses fades
it is Abraham and the Lord God of Abraham
I recognize His words His voice;
tears well and flow down my face.

I am awake
and I still hear His voice.
Sarah is here too,
Abraham’s wife.
I don’t hear her
I feel her
know she is close by
and the tears flow like the Nile.

The Muslim call to prayer
sounds from outside my room.
It is 12:30am, it is January 2011
and I am in Aswan, Egypt.
I don’t see them any longer but
they are still here;
the layers
of their energy
permeate me.

I turn on the light to write
but the heaviness of sleep
lays upon me hypnotic.
I will let go of remembering
let go of the vision
trust that what I need to know
I have always remembered.

When at 5am I awake
I write what is read now
as the Muslim call to prayer
again ricochets around me.

They are still here too.
They will not let me forget.

Video from the exterior of Luxor Temple; audio of the Muslim call to prayer.

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