Culture

When the Sea Parted

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Bruce Black

 

My feet are stuck
in wet mud, and
my head feels like
it’s still in Egypt

unable to leave
the past behind,
not wanting to take
another step into
the unknown.

My eyes sting from the
spray of salt water, but
I must keep moving or

else I’ll be buried in
the sand beside
Pharaoh’s soldiers.

So, I lift one foot and take
another step through the
mud, even though it feels
like I’m sinking

And I push forward with
the other foot into
the unknown.

Bruce Black is the author of Writing Yoga (Rodmell Press/Shambhala) and editorial director of The Jewish Writing Project. He received his BA from Columbia University and his MFA from Vermont College. His poetry and personal essays have appeared in Soul-Lit, The BeZine, Poetica, Atherton Review, Elephant Journal, Blue Lyra Review, Tiferet Journal, Hevria, Jewthink, The Jewish Literary Journal, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and elsewhere. He lives in Sarasota, FL.