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along the nile we travel
in silence
I cannot fathom your intentions
or reconcile myself to your victories
you wear a coat and mock the sun
surrounding yourself in heavy cloth
and the lowered lids of willing women
the water moves past me without movement
time is still and the blue skies blend
into the horizon in waves of shadeless heat
join us, Flavius, you call at random!
but i am waiting for nightfall where the hidden voices
of my people call out for justice
and i am writing from an imprisonment
you cannot free me from
at night the young voice of Jesus slips
past my guarded room
I watch the spirit of a redeemer and cannot speak
for the ignorance of my people and my desire to live
dwells strongly within me
I am not a brave man as men go
but I will scroll the truth in my time
and it will reach beyond this dull river
and the grim warnings of my people
Phibby Venable lives
in Abingdon, VA abd gas a degree in social work. She's been published
in 2River, Circle Magazine, Southern Ocean Review, Sow's Ear, the
Appalachian Journal, and other national and international publications.
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