The desert whispers to me
It tells me of its pain
It speaks of its loneliness, without any rain.
It has witnessed eons of history
The glory of many a reign
It has bred many a sovereign
And the Pharaoh Tut-ankh-amen.
It was blessed by Isis
Nurtured by the Nile
Guarded by Ram sphinx
Ruled diligently by Nefertiti,
Ramses and Amenhotep
Added to its fame.
It was the first empire
The first trade base
The first military fire
The first treasure stock
The first great engineers
The first great builders
The first great seafarers
The first great civilisation.
All was well and God smiled
Water flushed the eternal Nile
The land prospered and shined
The desert’s heart was satisfied.
But even magical things
Must come to an end,
Everything has but one day in the sun.
The ruins reverberate with past glories
The pillars, pyramids and its stories.
The caravans of the past are all gone
The belly dancers, singers and merrymakers silent
All is covered with dust, grit and grime
Where once the pharaohs and queens ruled sublime.
The desert calls out to me
Its heart is filled with longing and pain.
The desert whispers to me
That nothing will ever be the same again
It knows I will understand
Even far and away, now and then
The desert whispers to me.
16 August 2002
I travelled across Egypt for almost two weeks and was mesmerised by its heritage. A question that comes to mind on seeing all the past grandeur in ruins is how to sustain growth – for an individual, country, society or times?