For Galina Krasskova

To Sekhmet the Protector

Hail to you Sekhmet, Fierce One
who can swat away the Seven Arrows
with a contemptuous wave of your hand,
Sekhmet the Mighty One who hunts down
malignant, vagrant Spirits who afflict us by day and by night,
Sekhmet the Unrivaled One who spits at the Evil Eye
rendering it as impotent as the enemies of the Two Lands,
and tears to pieces the Apophis serpent who would bar the way
of her father Re Upon the Horizon. Sekhmet the Thrice-Greatest
I hail, who is served by exorcists and surgeons, both of whom
cut away what is diseased, polluted and corrupt.
Hail to you Lady of the red beer who delights in the fine offerings
we bring before you, hail and watch over us, O Ever Vigilant One!