“Egypt is playing a tawdry role in the current agony of the Palestinians; but it is not new, sadly.” — Dennis Brutus
Remembering Egypt
Solitary I walked the sands
beside the Pyramids
hot soil beneath my feet:
ageless the cloudless skies
aeons above invisible stars:
men laboured in dusty rags
parched reeds wilted in shallows
children with dark hungry eyes
gazed, curious, at alien intruders
while power games unwound
dynastic narratives unscrolled;
sorrowing, we braced for tawdry tales
14 January 2009
Dennis Brutus is a South African poet. Active against Apartheid, he was arrested in 1963 and imprisoned for 18 months on Robben Island. After his release, he became a political refugee in the United States. Today he is based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, engaged in poetry and activism against all forms of oppression and exploitation. The Centre for Civil Society circulates a Dennis Brutus poem every day. If you want to get a Brutus poem a day, subscribe to the Debate list at lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/debate.