Day of Going Forth
image by tobiaswahl
Past my last breath,
I’ll be more free
than I can now stretch to imagine.
When I’m finished here,
and I go forth, I do know I’ll keep
a special fondness for the body.
On the day of Going-Forth,
I’ll lay it gently down with thanks.
In Egyptology, a peret kheru,
“going forth with voice,”
is a written spell meant
to be spoken aloud,
to bring the deceased
whatever she may need to cross.
Here is my spell, all-purpose:
whatever we need, we’ve got it.
When the curtains rise and the show
Past Your Last Breath begins,
let’s go forth forthrightly,
grinning a spirit-smile,
spirit eyes wider than they’ve ever been,
striding the soul
straight into the light.
©Susa Silvermarie 2026
image by geralt
There’s a beautiful translation of the Egyptian Book of the Dead by Normandi Ellis called “Awaking Osiris.” I’ve set some of her texts to music. One of the chapters is called “Coming Forth By Day” which probably refers to the same idea as your poem. I find those texts very comforting, in ways I can’t even explain.