Moses himself was much esteemed in the land of Egypt, among Pharaoh’s courtiers and among the people.
Exodus 11:3
Exodus 11:3
Pharaoh’s wizened wizards remember him, small
Tugging at their sleeves, always asking, why? Always asking, how?
Mistaking it for gold, Moses kissed a coal from their ovens.
His royal mother would have them killed!
But through his blistered lips he begged her
To let him visit their workroom again.
Tugging at their sleeves, always asking, why? Always asking, how?
Mistaking it for gold, Moses kissed a coal from their ovens.
His royal mother would have them killed!
But through his blistered lips he begged her
To let him visit their workroom again.
Pharaoh’s canny courtiers remember him, lithe and lean
Though they are now bent with age and guile and cynical servitude
In their youth they were the servants’ servants’ servants,
And the royal Moses greeted them graciously,
When they bowed with fiery pride
He cradled their youthful egos with care.
Though they are now bent with age and guile and cynical servitude
In their youth they were the servants’ servants’ servants,
And the royal Moses greeted them graciously,
When they bowed with fiery pride
He cradled their youthful egos with care.
Pharaoh’s peasant farmers remember him, strong
How Moses loved to wander through the twisting streets by torchlight
Carrying a basket of rushes for an old bent woman
Helping a slender boy turn the wheel of the shaduf
That brings water to Pharaoh’s fields
The gift of the Nile, his gift to them.
How Moses loved to wander through the twisting streets by torchlight
Carrying a basket of rushes for an old bent woman
Helping a slender boy turn the wheel of the shaduf
That brings water to Pharaoh’s fields
The gift of the Nile, his gift to them.
Pharaoh’s shuffling slaves remember him, distantly
Conversing with the fawning overseers
Visiting the groaning storehouses where they knelt and wept
None of them knew Joseph then
But Moses felt the searing pain beneath their brows.
And did not turn away.
Conversing with the fawning overseers
Visiting the groaning storehouses where they knelt and wept
None of them knew Joseph then
But Moses felt the searing pain beneath their brows.
And did not turn away.
One day it was all too much,
the princely façade cracked at the sight
Of overseers doing what they really do
when no one is looking.
The lash laid fiery welts along the back of a slave
And Moses felt the burn.
the princely façade cracked at the sight
Of overseers doing what they really do
when no one is looking.
The lash laid fiery welts along the back of a slave
And Moses felt the burn.
He struck, then fled.
He tended flocks, he married well.
He tended flocks, he married well.
One day long after, he saw the fire again.
The bush that burned, the flame that would not go out
Moses could never turn away from fire.
Here I am, he said, and suddenly there he was
Working for the One God He’d never met in Pharaoh’s kingdom.
Circumcised, at last.
The bush that burned, the flame that would not go out
Moses could never turn away from fire.
Here I am, he said, and suddenly there he was
Working for the One God He’d never met in Pharaoh’s kingdom.
Circumcised, at last.
Now the fire is in his voice, the slaves are at his back.
Through scarred lips he is speaking truth to power
Telling Pharaoh what he doesn’t want to hear
Showing Pharaoh what he doesn’t want to know.
While the whole world is watching
While the whole world is on fire
Through scarred lips he is speaking truth to power
Telling Pharaoh what he doesn’t want to hear
Showing Pharaoh what he doesn’t want to know.
While the whole world is watching
While the whole world is on fire
The wizards nod admiringly: he has gone where we cannot.
The courtiers smile, tightly: he is every inch a prince.
The courtiers smile, tightly: he is every inch a prince.
The peasants stand, their hearts aflame in hope,
They, too, have labored in narrow places
They have heard their Goshen neighbors groaning
They, too, long for a sacred wind
That might carry them on eagles’ wings, or Moses’ coattails
As he leads his Hebrews across the sea.
They, too, have labored in narrow places
They have heard their Goshen neighbors groaning
They, too, long for a sacred wind
That might carry them on eagles’ wings, or Moses’ coattails
As he leads his Hebrews across the sea.
They give their gifts of gold and silver freely
Metals forged in fire and quenched in water.
The bravest among them give more than that.
The rising tide of the Sea of Reeds Lifts all hopes.
As the God of Moses liberates The Hebrews,
the mixed multitude suspect He will liberate them as well.
Metals forged in fire and quenched in water.
The bravest among them give more than that.
The rising tide of the Sea of Reeds Lifts all hopes.
As the God of Moses liberates The Hebrews,
the mixed multitude suspect He will liberate them as well.
