Plagued by a cold confusion,<\/p>\n
By a reality so confined and<\/p>\n
Constricted, a face so masked<\/p>\n
And distorted, it looks to be a<\/p>\n
Utopian nirvana to those in<\/p>\n
Its super-vise clutches\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A prison so intense, it seems<\/p>\n
Like freedom to its prisoners<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
An exile so deep, the exiled<\/p>\n
Think it to be redemption<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Night so cold and dark, the blind<\/p>\n
Picture it as the warmest sunlight<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A world so dazed and lost, its<\/p>\n
Inhabitants think it found and<\/p>\n
Focused\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This is the world of which we<\/p>\n
Know and have come to love \u2013<\/p>\n
This is Egypt: a place where<\/p>\n
The body of the beast is wors-<\/p>\n
Hipped and the soul of man is<\/p>\n
Denied<\/p>\n
A world where the underbelly<\/p>\n
Of society is overfed and the<\/p>\n
Understated purity is starved<\/p>\n
Sick<\/p>\n
A world where the boundless<\/p>\n
Energy of the Divine Image is<\/p>\n
Channeled to creating separation<\/p>\n
And our underlying unity stands<\/p>\n
Forgotten and alone<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Such is life here in Egypt;<\/p>\n
And such is how we live.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I am G-d and I shall take you out
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
From under the burdens of Egypt<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And G-d revealed His Name and<\/p>\n
The four expressions of redemption;<\/p>\n
G-d told the people, through Moshe,<\/p>\n
That He will free them; pull them out<\/p>\n
Of this unnatural state and take them<\/p>\n
To the Holy Land of Israel\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But they did not heed Moshe
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
Because of shortness of breath
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
And hard work<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But the darkness is so deep, the<\/p>\n
Mirage seemingly so real, the breath<\/p>\n
So short and the hope shorter yet,<\/p>\n
That the people do not heed, cannot<\/p>\n
Understand freedom, cannot believe in a<\/p>\n
Promised Land and do not recognize G-d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
They are so broken they cannot imagine<\/p>\n
Ever being whole again\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He held the staff aloft and
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
Struck the water\u2026
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
And all the water that was in
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
The river changed to blood<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
One must fight a plaguing situation<\/p>\n
With a plague of ones own\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When one is in de-Nile one must be<\/p>\n
Shaken loose, pulled and dried off:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The first step is turning all that which<\/p>\n
Is cold and calculated into that which<\/p>\n
Is warm and passionate: turning the<\/p>\n
Frigid waters of Egypt into the blood<\/p>\n
That is Life\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Then, when one has a purpose, a fire<\/p>\n
To live, one can begin throwing off<\/p>\n
The shackles that are binding and free<\/p>\n
The heart that is bound\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Plagues are not (only) punishments<\/p>\n
For the wrongs done \u2013<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
They are (also) the steps to a refined<\/p>\n
Clarity that allows for us to see the<\/p>\n
Rights that can be done<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Plaguerized \u2013 opening the door to the<\/p>\n
Prison so that Man can run free<\/p>\n