14 Jun 2022

Richard
Manly Heiman

Full Moon

Jun 29th

May 30th

Theban Holiday

Inspired by Nebamun Hunting

in the Marshes (c.1350 BCE)

I float

like waterfowl

gripped by twig legs,

weaponized

by you, father,

conquistador of birds,

colossus of reed boats.

Look—a tomcat dances,

bites on evening air

heedless of you.

He's an orange familiar

to your sorcery

between the sedge and sky.

I slink in shadow

beneath your legs

for shelter—

I know what follows

behind in the rushes.

Eternity.

Snaring you, me,

and a jeweled queen.

But fat black perch

with agate eyes don’t care

for ka and ba.

They know a deep world,

and that’s all. If only

you’d glance down, father.

You’d be afraid too.

Behind the poem...

The fresco of Nebamun Hunting in the Marshes speaks to me of immortality – for here is Nebamun, shown enjoying a favorite pursuit in the afterlife. Yet while his figure dominates the scene, the more poignant character in the scene is the daughter, who becomes the speaker in the poem. Seemingly sheltered beneath her father's form, she is looking at ... what? The approach of eternity? For me, there's a curious opposition here between perch and girl; between pure, ephemeral physicality, and a yearning for existence beyond this life. It amazes me how such a painting, at least 3,000 years old, can assume new meaning for an observer today.