"The forepaw of a lion, the forearm of a man, the primal ray of sun.
I wake in the dark to the stirring of birds, a murmur in the trees,
a flutter of wings.
It is the morning of my birth, the first of many.
The past lies knotted in its sheets asleep.
Winds blow, flags above the temple ripple.
Out of darkness the earth spins toward light.
I feel a change coming. My thoughts flicker, glow a moment and catch fire.
I come forth by day singing"
-excerpt from the Papyrus of Ani
to be said on the day of the burial; going in after coming forth
