To Them That Go Down

The Ancient Modern

To Them That Go Down /  Joshua Alan Sturgill                            

Everyone passes through Egypt.
Thoth and Moses
Darius and Alexander
the infant Messiah
and the armies of Islam

Everyone passes the wine over his tongue,
the gold and the onions
indulgence and abstention

Our humanity is known
only in its extremes,
material and divine. Everyone passes
for an animal-headed god

All poetry and supplementary material: copyright 2022 by Joshua Alan Sturgill. All rights reserved.