We Never Left Egypt

(To my sons and my daughters)

We never left Egypt
We were slaves
And we’ve stayed slaves
With no bread
Not because we had to hurry
But because there is no cash
To spend in the corner shop

Pharaoh
Is still alive and rules us
Him, his eunuch and his trusted three
In the counting house

The slavery is modern
The hunger the same hunger

You said there won’t be another
Flood
(Frankly, I don’t get why
If it’s all the same to you, consider that
Again) so at least
You’d shake the earth
You’d split the sea

An old woman on a bench
Under your heaven, the work of your fingers: a moon
A guy looking for a meal
Like a cat on the rubbish heap

Dust and dung
And no revival

We never left Egypt
And I don’t intend to lie
To my sons and my daughters