The Parting
The Parting
Exodus 14
We stand sweating and thirsty by the shore
At the setting of Ra
A setting we’ve always anticipated
Bringing a glimpse of beauty to each day of toil
Beauty now eclipsed by a plumage of fire
Baking our scarred backs
Reflected heat scorching past us
To turn the red waters aflame
Red mixing with yellow
Glistening and churning
What Gehenna must look like
For it was the beginning of the end when Moses came
Since his God awakened from prolonged slumber
Awakened no doubt by the prayers of devout widows
Widows who still believe the stories about Joseph
And safe-keep his bones
But there’s no denying recent events
I thought we hated the Egyptians
But not compared to Moses’s God
And now what’s left of them are here
We hear their horses neighing, their muffled screams of insults and threats
All brought here by the same whirlwind of destiny
That besets us both
And now it is night
The reds and the yellows fade to black
Vibrant colors swept away by wind
And such a wind
Spraying the salt into our faces
Immersing us, maddening us further with thirst
Hour after hour after cursed hour
Ra returns at last
Revealing a scene we will never forget
We face a gauntlet of dry ground
The sea blown aside by relentless gales
The ground covered with clinging seaweed, craggy rocks, and freshly-dead fish
Shrieking seagulls are feasting and swarming like locusts
Holy smoke it is impressive
We stand agape for a moment
Then into this valley the old step first
Slow progress, stumbling, dodging, climbing
Walking through collateral damage
Frequently looking back
Expecting to be overrun by our oppressors
Ra sets again
We all have crossed
We turn and face the sea, now filling again
Swirling with them, horses and men
Gasping for air, dying one by one
Our tears unexpectedly cover the ground
Mourning a common humanity, a shared sorrow
And we feel again the heat on our backs
Heat from the endless desert, from an unknown fate
But O God
Still we thirst
Copyright © Mark Elam | Year Posted 2020
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