Oedipus Dreams # 21: A Pawn Of Fate Poem by Hugh Cobb

I hear scarabs scuttle 'cross
blist'ring dunes,
patiently rolling
balls of dung.
I listen to their efforts
& think on alien gods,
not those I worship,
but strange deities of the Nile:

Thebes borders Pharoah's realm.
Our cultures abrade one another.
Who will win the borderlands?
Will Thebes one day give way
to Egypt's might & great display
of statuary & incens'd rites?

I'd ask Tiresias, if he could see,
behind sightless eyes,
what our futures hold;
but he is ancient & far away,
his damning visions already told.

So now instead of walking free,
I carry th'imprint of prophetic slav'ry:
my will's not my own.
I rest, a pawn of fate,
awaken'd to this truth
but for remedy
far too late.

Copyright Hugh Cobb March 2005