1. Jakya Bridges<br />Due: Nov. 24 <br />Pd 5/ W.H. Lit<br />Where I’m from Poem<br />A Heart as Light as a Feather<br />I am from the flooded waters of the Nile River, <br />That placed fertile soil beneath my feet.<br />I’m from the protection of deserts and seas, <br />Surrounding the Nile Valley.<br />I am from the impressions of hieroglyphics on stone,<br />And the mind that crafted papyrus and ink, made of soot.<br />I am from the golden, life- like statues of rulers,<br />And colorful paintings that stalk the walls of Egypt.<br />I am from Menes, who united Egypt into a whole. <br />I’m from the Old Kingdom,<br />Where I watched the Great Sphinx rise in glory.<br />I am from the era of prosperity, the “ Golden Age,”<br />In which the Hyksos murdered with compound bows.<br />My origins are of a female pharaoh, Hatshepsut.<br />She placed security back into my home,<br />While bearing men’s clothing and a false beard upon her chin.<br />I am from farming with crude hoes and wooden plows,<br /> And devoting my crops to the divine in power.<br />I’m from parched fields that harvest cotton for weaving, <br />And a food surplus enabling trade amongst our neighbors.<br /> I am from a government the chokes the guidelines of trade,<br />But allows caravans to travel as far as Africa.<br />I am from the confused winds, running from the Mediterranean Sea into the Nile Valley,<br />Enabling a pathway for trade and travel.<br />I am from sacred animals like the cat and bull.<br />I’m from polytheism, excluding the one attempt at monotheistic ways.<br />I am from Amon- Re,<br />And Osiris, who will judge me upon my death.<br /> I am from Aton, my sun god.<br />He is symbolized by a disk.<br />I am from a dynasty that ends once incest reaches its maximum mass.<br />I am from a new life after my last breath.<br />Surpassing all of the things I have done, my heart still weighs less than a feather.<br />I am indeed from the flesh of Egypt.<br />