Scabbard and rags

[JakeSullivan]

The poem seems to be contemplating the choices and sacrifices of Miriam, the sister of Moses, who played a key role in his story as a baby. The speaker wonders whether Miriam knew what she was doing when she helped put Moses in the Nile, and whether she was afraid of the consequences for herself. The poem also suggests that Moses himself may have obscured or distorted the truth of his own story, and that there may be more to the tale than we know.

[UtzoztU]

Did she know
what she was going to do,
Miriam
when
Moses was put down the Nile,
and
was it more than terrifying
to know
her certain death was
sure even if
the child survived?--
and if
his voice never told
the story,
was she gone everafter,
like a veil drawn
over the river, and
the darkness took her,--
let's not mistake nor excuse
the karma of Moses,
or his mother's mothers.
think,
instead of in your arms,
you
your mom,
the waterfall.
when history began,
they started
telling the lies
to keep me from Hope.