Being a milord

For one hour I was a milord -

There was dazzling linen, a girl with kohl rimmed eyes -

Waiters moved noiselessly - 

The Nile flowed beneath us -

Floating restaurant on the Nile

Cairo

February 2025

Cairo Policeman

He lounged against sleek metal -

Swept the street with his indifferent gaze - 

We felt the chill of those unblinking eyes - 

Traffic flowed past an opulent hotel - 

Cairo 

February 2025

The feast

Before dark we had our feast -

A vegetable tagine as hot as lava -

Rice as yellow as the sun - 

Bedu camp

One hour's drive from Sharm el Sheikh 

February 2025

Above the emptiness

A thin boy guided our camels across the sand -

We left the bedu camp -

There were barren hills, a single ancient tree -

We wore shemaghs, half masking our faces -

I stroked the coarse pelt of my camel's neck - 

Above the emptiness was the sky -

It was mid afternoon - 

The boy had dark sad eyes -

He turned to look at us, holding out his hand for small coins -

One hour's drive from Sharm el Sheikh 

February 2025

Hani

I'll remember Hani -

This canny scholar - 

His smile - 

His knowledge of the trickery of the streets - 

Of the names of the Pharoahs - 

Of the contents of Canopic Jars -

Of the ways of the Police - 

How he guided us past the wiles of the vendors - 

Bargained with the chief of the camel drivers - 

Showed us the wonders of his city - 

Only asked to be remembered -

Cairo

February 2025

Khufu

His face -

That of a god king -

Like an exquisite jewel, set in silence and light - 

National Museum 

Cairo

February 2025

This narrow doorway

This narrow doorway - 

Beyond it, the stifling  corridor - 

The vast weight of time -

The Great Pyramid

Cairo

February 2025