glimpses

Cairo is:

Metro sardines with a salty babe held up to the fan.

Allah'u'Akbar
rising in waves of fervor.

dizzying high rises,
Standstill traffic.

Death and life
that squats in cemeteries
and scurries in shadows.

Dust,
Dust,
Dust!

Fasting empty streets that slowly become sheesha-strewn by night,
meandering men heading home in 2am jams

an exuberant sister that runs to take my hand,
lulled to sleep at my side
(a comforting heat).

dirty water in a dry land,
life out of dust.

Malls and lights
and dingy stalls

and donkeys
and dates.