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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Poetry Challenge Day 1 Topic: EGYPT

FOREST FIRE

The comatose mummified remains of human souls
have come forth from their graves
Planted roots of protest
have emancipated mental slaves
Egypt is not the land of the free,
but today it is the home of the brave
They crave justice.

Must I quote Langston Hughes?

"That Justice is a blind goddess
Is a thing to which [Egyptians] are wise
Her bandage hides two festering sores
That once, perhaps, were eyes."

And yet its government denies
oppression
suppression
regression
depression
is wrong.

So the mummified remains of human souls have taken root
And
in the middle of the DESERT
are strong like a forest of oaks
Soaked in the accelerant of a desire for freedom
That has marinated for multiple milleniums
Waiting for one more spark of injustice to set them ablaze.

Amazing the ferocity a forest fire brings.
The heat from Egypt licks at international faces
And in some unfortunate cases, their backs.
That fire packs punches to the gut of tyranny
Now emptied of its power to frighten and intimidate
Yet stubbornly holding on in plague after plague.

Modern day pharoah would do best
to let the people of Egypt go
But if he doesn't, he must know
That a forest fire of protest
CANNOT be quenched
by a
weak,
meager
Fire Hose.

The Egyptian government ordered fire hoses on protestors.  This ain't 1950s Selma.  This is last Friday's Egypt.

1 comments:

Unknown said...

I like it... Being from Africa (well, we're all from there, ain't we?), I think I have a personal emotional bond to present-day Egypt!
It's a scenario that is sadly the plight of MOST African countries; the pseudo-democracy and covert dictatorship.
How does one nation have the same president for 30 years, you may ask?
I have a better question is this: How many African countries have a president who has been in power for less than 10 years?

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