In Egypt

As the terror of the news reports

Awaits the riots sure to be brought on
`   By the inevitable funerals and the Friday prayers,

We know deep inside that we are all In Egypt,
One way or another. We are there.

In Egypt there are empires

Piled upon empires piled high upon empires,

Faces degraded by winds of time,

Stone monuments, tombs of pharaohs,

Buildings the beauty of which incite awe,

Marvels made of shifting, transient sand,

Pyramids, gigantic silent statues.
The whole lives of pharaohs,

The whole lives of all Egyptians, high and low,

Are now present to us. 

And we mourn.

--July 7, 2013