Excerpt from Lays and Legends

Reincarnation

Here at my feet there resteth Meryt-ra,
Swathed in a rose-hued shroud her body lies,
Gold on her brow, and round each slender wrist
Bracelets inwrought with fine-cut amethyst.
Whither has fled the Ka of Meryt-ra,
Who danced within the Hall of Butterflies?

Long have I sought it through the vaulted gloom
Of chambers decked with painted traceries
Of bird and lotus, where strange shadows fall
From crumbling porch or carven capital.
By what cold dais, o'er what sculptured tomb.
Hovers her spirit now in trembling guise?

Once more I turn, to see the Nile sweep blue
Beyond these walls, and there, in sudden wise
My quest is ended, for a maiden stands
Holding a balla in her outstretched hands.
The soul of Meryt-ra, re-born anew,
Looks laughing outwards from her sloe-black eyes.

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