The name written in sand disappears quickly

Swept away in the whirlwind of circulating currents

Whipped up from the Red Sea divinely parted for departure. [1]

 

Hieroglyphs chipped into stone last much longer

Sand-blasted by ancient carvers breathing silicone

Into lungs preserved in pots returning to dust .

 

So stain it in black onto the papyrus of Nile reeds

Grown to protect a name and an infant child

Born to lead a nation out of hunger's bondage. [2]

 

Just breathe the name in memory, but that will fade

As lips crack in the parching sun of a desert day

And dynasties die with the passage of yesterday's time.

 

But a name recorded in the Book of Life [3] survives

Without an ankh [4] in the memory of a loving Father

Who forgives and forgets the event, but remembers us.

 

August 2008

 

After visiting the Tutankhamun exhibition at the O2 Arena, where Jonathan printed out his own name in hieroglyphics

 

The cartouche was a hieroglyphic nameplate or seal with symbols for the sounds of the word. So JONATHAN is spelt: cobra, lasso, water, eagle, loaf, house, eagle, water

 

 

[1] 'The Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind ...' to allow the Israelites to escape from Egypt - Exodus 14

[2] Moses was hidden in a papyrus basket - Exodus 2

[3] In the New Testament the Book of Life is regarded as the roster of believers - eg Rev 21:27

[4] The Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol for life and immortality