“In the core of the flower, the glimmering, wakeless Snake.
“And what falls away is a dream, and what accrues is a dream. There is always and only Now, Now and I Am.”
There was silence in the circle of men. Outside, the sound of the bullock-wagon could be heard, and from the lake, the faint knocking of oars. But the seven men sat with their heads bent, in the semi-trance, listening inwardly.
Then the drum began softly to beat, as if of itself. And a man began to sing, in a small voice:
“The Lord of the Morning Star
Stood between the day and the night:
As a bird that lifts its wings, and stands
With the bright wing on the right
And the wing of the dark on the left,
The Dawn Star stood into sight.