THE SUPREME ARTIST
OVERTURE
Osiris lies dead, his limbs buried in Egypt:
And fell a seed on Osiris earth
And then a shoot, a peeping leaf
A soft stem hardening in violent outburst
Of leaves, buds and flowers
Of scents, and colours –
With curious bees wandering in –
And huge pods exploding –
And then shooting into the air, distinctly, the eternal seed.
(MUSIC)
Out of the sands which lie beyond
Beyond the brisk columns, the obdurate obelisks,
Beyond the bellowing rage of the guardian Konsus,
Beyond rock-waved lions, beyond enigma-sphinzes –
There slither in the air the songs of Egypt:
And Ra, the King of the sky, Ra, arises.
O! that moment of joy when he opens his lids –
That second of sight which makes the world, when he
Pushes aside his weak wife!
That second celebrated by birds’ songs!
by little girls on the banks of the Nile,
by papyrus, date-palms, lotuses,
by men’s muscles, by children’s laughter,
by women’s fingers, by the snail's drunken pace!
by awakening man’s visions
by eyes to behold the sights to be seen!
by cold flesh to feel the warmth to be had!
That second when he flings his arms and travels across
To be swallowed into the mouth of the naked woman
Who leans blue over the earth
(Nut who flaunts her breasts so wickedly) -
We wonder as the Egyptians dead with blank eyes:
Who is He this Ra, this Sun, this God –
What be the meaning of this fiery steed?
Who this Supreme Artist?
