Egypt
I feel the wind, the sun beams’ reflection
On my eyelid’s rim - liquid gold fire;
Illuminated dust floats before me
Licking the air like flames leaping higher.
Through bluish haze I see waving palms
The pyramids of Giza stand behind
Like sentinels of this enchanted land
Their monolithic presence slows the time.
I step forward, my vision bathed in light
In my ear the wind whispers ancient tales
Of Pharaohs, of magic, of mighty acts
Of great warriors whose heart never quails.
Of thundering horses and chariots
Of the battle, of the uplifted spear
Of a past era of glory untold
A great empire the whole world did fear.
Visions pass before my astonished eyes
I see gold and palaces bright;
I see the glory and pomp of the gods
Bugles are blown, men tremble in his sight.
Son of the sun he is, of divine kin
The ground shakes beneath his golden sandals
The sun glitters against his golden mask
The wind blows his royal purple mantles.
Garlands, flowers of color brilliant
Tossed by his subjects, do adorn his path;
For he is Pharaoh, the divine of earth
Lord of all, and fatal is his wrath.
He fades away, a new vision appears
Of dunes, of camels; through a hazy mist
The Arab leads his precious caravan
His first camel’s reigns wrapped around his wrist.
On their bactrian backs sugar canes strapped;
Others silk, velvet - treasures of the east
Their hooves leave clouds of swirling yellow dust
They stomp and sway, not tired in the least.
The Bedouin’s face, half covered with cloth
The hollows of his eyes a dark shadow;
The wind blows and rips at his long white robes
His steps on the sand are sift and mellow.
In these vast horizons he is alone
It is only him and Allah his God;
His thoughts are deep, the world he contemplates
As he trudges forward clutching his rod.
And now ‘tis the city of Cairo I see
With its dusty streets and sandy buildings
Its wide boulevards and colorful blooms
Sphinxes and facades with golden gildings.
I stare at the bricks zooming past my feet
I stare at the blue sky stretched over me
I stare at the palms waving in the wind
And the Persian rose so red and thorny.
The faces of Cairo pass my vision;
Glittering black eyes, sculpted face, black hair
Oriental fabrics wrapped around them
Their step and their gait is so strong, so fair.
My fingers are trailing over red stone
The wind whistles through its porous surface;
I feel so small, so insignificant
And yet I feel I have found my purpose:
Is it not nothing else but to stand here
And feel the desert wind blow over me
As my eyes fill with tears of happiness
And the warm Egyptian rays cover me?
To feel the grains of sand in my fingers
As my vision quivers with heated sheen?
To faint into the arms of the hot wind
And be carried away into a dream
Of Pharaohs and gold; of empires bright
Of Arabs and camels, the golden sun
The Nile that flows to eternity
To the Mediterranean his son.
The blue sky is spinning - I’m waking up
It’s melting into darkness - what a dream!
Oh beautiful Egypt - don’t go away!
You’re ecstasy, euphoria supreme!
