Wall, Emily

English

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Leaving Egypt   The men are out, as usual, standing in whitewashed doorways  talking about Pharaoh, the plagues, Moses.  I feel the energy rise  like a heat wave—the decision to leave growing, shimmering above the floor  of this small street.  I smell cooking— Ahuva making her safflower and cinnamon  spiced lamb.  She made that for me after the birth of my son.  That night I sat in the cool   of the doorway, bleeding a little, breathing, eating small bites.  I’ve lived next to her  all my life.  I lean against the rough doorframe.  It’s still there, a smear of blood.  The mark that means, finally, we’re leaving this home.  This terrible city, this place  we have always known.  Keep breathing the midwife said.  Start walking  my husband will say.     Wall, Emily, "Leaving Egypt" Common Ground Review 18, 1 (2016): 72.  

Leaving Egypt

https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/bitstream/11122/8168/1/wall_leavingegypt.pdf

Leaving Egypt

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