03.09.13

River Song

Posted in Anuket, Aset, Atum/Tem, Bast, Hapy, Heryshef, Hethert, Nebt-het, Nefertem, Nekhbet, Nunet, Satet, Serqet, Wadjet at 9:49 pm

River Song
© 2013 Natalie Baan

This is where it all begins.
This is where life becomes,
where Hapi holds out His hands to us
among the flowers of Nefertem.
The bennu stands upon the stones,
bright sails are raised to catch the wind,
and in this moment all the world,
is new again,
is new again….

Satet, Anuket, be kind to me.
Send Your cooling waters rolling toward the far-off sea.
Nekhbet, Wadjet, watch over me,
everywhere the river flows on his journey
to the Field of Reeds,
to the Field of Reeds.

As swiftly as the hawk in flight,
as steady as the beating drum,
between the Red Land and the Black,
shimmering those waters run.
O great Lord of the Riverbank,
smiling under Hethert’s sky,
O Heryshef, O Soul of Ra,
how bright You shine,
how bright You shine….

Aset, Serqet, inspire me.
Send your breath of life to stir my soul and set me free.
Nunet, Nebthet, You sing to me.
Beyond those gates of birth and death, the mystery
of the Field of Reeds,
of the Field of Reeds.

And when I reach the water’s edge,
my Mother waits there for me.
Among the whispers of the reeds,
silent, She is watching me.
And every treasure is there,
a thousand jewels of the sun,
the lotus pool, the flashing wings,
the sweetest fragrance of Her love.
And in the cool of the evening,
as the golden light descends,
She brings a quiet to my heart,
the peace of Tem,
the peace of Tem….

Satet, Anuket, be kind to me.
Send Your cooling waters rolling toward the far-off sea.
Nekhbet, Wadjet, watch over me,
Everywhere the river flows on his journey.
Aset, Serqet, inspire me.
Send your breath of life to stir my soul and set me free.
Nunet, Nebthet, You sing to me.
Beyond those gates of birth and death, the mystery
of the Field of Reeds,
of the Field of Reeds,
of the Field of Reeds.
 


Notes: Recorded in March 2013, but written years back. This song is a journey, not just following the great river from the cataracts in the south of Kemet to the northern sea, but also following the movement of the sun from dawn to twilight and of a person’s life from awakening to completion, from birth to death. The tune was inspired by the song “Al-Sayyadin” (The Fishermen) from The Music of Islam vol 3: Music of the Nubians.


01.28.11

Hapy Love Song

Posted in Hapy at 12:09 pm

Hapy Love Song
© 2011 Natalie Baan

Hapy, great river,
come to me from Your source.
Hapy, from Khnum’s cave,
rising tonight.

Hapy, the floods come,
lifting the boats.
Gently You rock me
in Your arms tonight.

Comfort my lonely heart,
trembling in the darkness.
Reflect a million stars to light my dream.
Love knows no reason why.
Enough that it shares its brightness.
All that is good in life, You bring to me.

Hapy, sweet river,
flowers strewn on Your waves,
tenderly Your whisper
wakens me at dawn.

Ah, Hapy, the seasons,
how they come and go.
Hapy, send Your tide.
Wash me clean to greet the dawn.


Notes: Written in November 2010, in the season of Inundation. I’ve always had a thing for rivers….