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Zoan To Memphis

Marvellous things did He in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan ... How He had wrought His signs in Egypt, and His wonders in the field of Zoan ... For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them — Ps. 78:12, 43; Hos. 9:6 In the field of Zoan, where the plagues of Egypt was shown, the awesome power of God was made known In the valley of the tombs of the Pharaohs, the feet of the Hebrew children took Exodus They spoiled the hands of the time archers, who shot four hundred oppression arrows From the field of Zoan, Moses carried away Joseph’s bones On the oasis road leaving Zoan, the Hebrew children sang the freedom song Oh, the Rock of salvation they leaned on, buried all of Pharaoh’s chasing chariots in the Red Sea ... gone, east windblown But the pure grapes of liberty was just too strong And the Promised land in Canaan sprouted Egyptian idols from Dan to Bethel Thus the prophecy that was foretold, upon leaving Egypt, began to finally unfold Sending the stiffnecked people of God back into chains of oppression again When the slave trafficking ships of Tyre would come sailing in on a northern wind And an iron European closed fist dragged the scattered people of Zion, weeping crying, back to Memphis Mississippi bound, singing the delta blues Black raisins in the sun wailing in the cotton fields beggarly with no shoes Plantation thorns in the soul from gathering the white pain in the fertile fields of Zoan And the American cotton weary tears has been nearly four hundred years long From Memphis to Zoan, I can hear the shipbuilder girdles groan Egyptian vessels of slavery are scaffold stamped seaworthy From Zoan to Memphis, I hear names being read from an auction list Egyptian ships of merchandise will fetch a commodities market high price And the spiked crown lady, dressed in queen of Tyre jewels, continue to give empty leather promises to the cursed people who came here with no shoes From Memphis to Zoan every idol is gon be overturned From Zoan to Memphis, God is gon open that Egyptian closed fist And those ill-gotten spoils are gon fall to the needy poor from the greedy rich From Memphis to Zoan, come watch the righteous power of God bury every abominable idol wrong When the children of Zion confess their sins, then the hard, long captivity of the blessed people will end And the patient gospel waiting for the twinkling transformation will begin

Copyright © | Year Posted 2017




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Date: 12/14/2017 3:53:00 PM
This needs many quiet reads until all the nuance is absorbed. Filled with the colour and scents of ancient markets that deal in human bondage. Biblical references gives the tale context and history.
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Date: 12/14/2017 3:03:00 PM
"And an iron European closed fist dragged the scattered people of Zion, weeping crying, back to Memphis Mississippi bound, singing the delta blues Black raisins in the sun wailing ...". "Plantation thorns in the soul from gathering the white pain in the fertile fields of Zoan." Profound.
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Lovejoy-Burton Avatar
Leanne Lovejoy-Burton
Date: 12/14/2017 3:05:00 PM
"And the spiked crown lady, dressed in queen of Tyre jewels, continue to give empty leather promises to the cursed people who came here with no shoes..." "And the patient gospel waiting for the twinkling transformation will begin". OMG. Transported in your story. Genius, very deep and moving.

Book: Shattered Sighs