fve thousand year old dreams

[Wabbit]

Found a really cool thing. Here are two translated poems written by an Egyption aproximately 2750 B.C

I was writing at night
Everything was quiet
I heard a cat /somewhere around and nothing more
Because people sleep in silence
I love to practice the sacred art of writing
There is much wisdom within the silence and we become wise and powerful when we
understand it
The Man that speaks too much will lose himself outside
The Man that speaks too few will loose himself inside
That was when I saw her
Walking in silence
The wind was combing her hair
Her hair is dark like the night
She seemed to flew as she walked
Our eyes met
She said nothing
She is so beautiful but she doesn’t know
Her house is next to mine
I hear her sisters putting her down
They can only laugh and scream like annoying birds
Your eyes are deep
Don’t listen to them
You are wise woman
Your steps are beauty
You are beautiful outside
You are beautiful inside
I hope to tell her this one day
Yes I will tell her this one day
I could write you a song everyday.


I wonder if he ever told her


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"My daughter was born today
She is beautiful like her mother/ what a perfect child
Her lips are blood red and her eyes are grey like the sacred waters
My house will rejoice with her laughter every day
And fall into sadness with her tears
My life is complete now
I will work with more passion
And walk with a smile even when times are bad
When she grows she will turn out to be as lovely as her mother/
wiser than her father
And she will be loved
I can't spend much time without looking at her/ lovely flower
May her spirit be strong to face the greatness of life
May the gods bless her every moment
I have never cried since childhood
Until today"

I wonder if the child got to read this! I like the line about her eyes being like the sacred waters.

I liked these poems and it's cool they are so old.

 

[Øystein]

I just read the Epic Of Gilgamesh earlier today, which is, what, 4000 years old? I had the exact same feeling - it's just really cool that people wrote such wonderful things so very long ago. It makes the past a bit more alive in my mind.

Admittedly I'm easily taken with such thoughts. I mean, I think the same thing when I listen to, say, John Coltrane's "Meditations" and feel all warm about people going around creating such amazing music well before I was born, despite it being relatively recently. Ditto museums etc. Reading about history is one thing, but seeing evidence of it makes it much more real for me.

Marveling at the awesome size of time, space and humanity's place in it is a wonderful feeling to me.

(Hope you don't mind me going into a sideline rather than focusing on those poems)

 

[Wabbit]

No, I don't mind I really enjoyed meditations on time and space. I felt something similar while reading the poetry. Thanks

 

[Maya]

Thank you for sharing Wabbit! I liked the first one (not much into childrens/babies, so the second one was silly, but I'm really glad the Egyptians loved their children, you know).
I liked this:
"The Man that speaks too much will lose himself outside
The Man that speaks too few will loose himself inside!"
Plus when
"Your steps are beauty"
That was kind of sweet.

By the way, where did you find these poems? I'd like to read some more...

 

[mehastings]

Wabbit, where did you come up with these? They are really interesting. I like the second one and I'm intrigued by the fact that this man is so excited about his first child being a female.

I also had to wonder, is the beautiful woman of the first poem the mother of the second? Hmm.

 

[direstraits]

I wonder if the child got to read this!

I'd ask the same question there as well. Nice poems, Wabbit.

So remember to write a poem to your daughters and sons when they are born, and give it to them.

ds