Based on Exodus 14:1 – 11

once word spread they showed up
by the thousands
they encamped at the edge
of the buffer zone
no pillar of cloud no pillar of fire
only the burning of their hearts and
the dream of return

pharaoh said do not worry
we’ve trapped them in the land
locked them inside the desert
now let us harden our hearts
that they may truly know
who is the lord

so they harnessed their chariots
and amassed along the border
the snipers took their positions
while officers and generals
waited to give the command

when their sacred day came
the people began their march
lifting their eyes
they could almost see their homes
just a few kilometers and
a lifetime away

when the order came down
the angel of death was unleashed
bullets hit bodies
a pillar of tear gas descended
on the people until
they cried out to the lord

after the sun set
we sat down to our meal
and when the time came to
open the door of redemption
there was nothing there
but a cold and bitter wind
whispering softly

was it for want of graves
that you let us be slain
in this pitiless desert?