The Gods of Pegana

Chapter 7: THE CHAUNT OF THE GODS

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About This Book

A sequence of brief mythic prose poems constructs an invented pantheon centered on a supreme maker who rests while lesser gods fashion worlds, creatures and human-like beings. Episodic pieces orbit figures such as a tireless drummer, rival deities, prophets and omens, and revolts of smaller gods; recurring motifs include the gods' playfulness, the fragility of creation, cyclical endings when the maker may awaken, and the inscrutability of divine purpose. Tone ranges from solemn to wry, and the work assembles cosmogony, parable and lyric meditation into compact, fable-like vignettes that evoke ritual chant and imagined folklore.

THE CHAUNT OF THE GODS

There came the voice of the gods singing the chaunt of the gods, singing: “We are the gods; We are the little games of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI that he hath played and hath forgotten.

“MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI hath made us, and We made the Worlds and the Suns.

“And We play with the Worlds and the Sun and Life and Death until MANA arises to rebuke us, saying: ‘What do ye playing with Worlds and Suns?’

“It is a very serious thing that there be Worlds and Suns, and yet most withering is the laughter of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI.

“And when he arises from resting at the Last, and laughs at us for playing with Worlds and Suns, We will hastily put them behind us, and there shall be Worlds no more.”