The Scarab and the Milky Way

Dumbfounded, scientists have wondered how dung beetles, symbolic of the sun's eternal cycle in Egypt, manage to find their way even in the darkest of moonless nights. Unexpected, subtle, the answer shines directly from above, from the starry road that humans have used to find their way in the dark for ages.

By Dooney PotterPublished 4 years ago • Updated 3 years ago • 1 min read

AI-generated Image using the free utility at DeepAI.org

At day's end, his load to bear,

Pushes still, the Scarab King,

Night-dark shell, his sunless wing,

Watch him wend, by starlight's glare.

Guided so by moonless skies,

Seeming blind, the beetle speeds;

Left behind, like prayer beads,

Footprints glow in straight-edged lines.

O Khepri, bringer of dawn,

Egypt's king of morning light,

What pale string or mighty sight,

Ushers Thee through shadows drawn?

Sun long lost, he keeps swift pace,

Gently shoves his precious prize,

Whilst above, like Heaven's eyes,

Stars of frost his pathway trace.

How they glide, in neat display,

Drops of light from Hathor's breast,

Gleaming bright from east to west,

The beetle's guide: the Milky Way.

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