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Sunday, February 6, 2011

Weeping Like An Egyptian

[image from nationalgeographic.com]

[Remember Faiza and Bill, the elderly couple I provide home support for? I went over this morning to help out, and, knowing Faiza is Egyptian, asked her how she is feeling with all that is happening in Egypt right now. This is what she told me.]

"I am crying
for my country,
habibi,"
she said.
"They are burning
the museums,
where I walked
so many times,
and that is
my history,
all the way back
to the Pharoahs.

"When Jesus, Mary 
and Joseph fled
from Heroditus,
it was to Egypt
they came,
for safety.

"We are an
advanced civilization.
We have a force
within
with which
we built
the Pyramids
and the Sphinx,
in those days
without equipment,
raising those
heavy stones.

"Our history
is written
and painted
on the walls
of tombs.
They cannot
be destroyed.

"Long ago, 
they mummified
the dead,
preserved them
for centuries.
The kings were buried
with all their gold.

"When the invaders came,
to take the gold,
and they rolled back
the doors
to the tombs,
the force of millions
of tiny bugs
flew out in their faces
to protect the tombs,
and their bite was poison.
They turned the hordes away.

"My uncles are there,
my father's brothers.
My aunts,
and my cousins
are there.

So I am crying
for my country,
today,
habibi,
crying for
my people
and the beautiful land
where I was born."


from msn.com

11 comments:

  1. I hate to see the antiquities damaged.

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  2. the unrest in Egypt is really sad... the world is praying for God's will to reign. i just hope that there won't be more bloodshed before they get to restore peace there.

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  3. Beautifully written, Sherry. And again, you speak for many who might never be heard. The howl of the wolf woman resonates. Thank you,

    Elizabeth

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  4. Lovely writing, Sherry. It's a pity people like Anderson Cooper can't see the 'real' story, the people of Egypt and their suffering.

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  5. Sherry, what a moving and very current poem, Sherry. I am so sorry for the situation in Egypt, mostly for the people......

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  6. You gave a human face to the conflict.

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  7. Wonderfully said, Sherry. Having experienced part of the unique beauty and history of Egypt, my heart breaks to see it torn asunder. Having the Cairo Museum under seige is almost too much to bear...unbelievable that centuries of relics are at risk of being damaged in this quest for democracy...may a peaceful end to the conflict be secured soon...

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