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Out of nowhere and for no particular reason, I've been dreaming of Cairo again.

You burst into a
million seeds,
poured over the hot
stove of rancour,
Cairo.

When the walls no longer
withstood your curses,
you awakened the streets
with your boots,
Cairo.

Your cries brought the
sky down at Tahrir Square,
the Pharaoh shook
in his dreams,
Cairo.

With you the square
was a fortress of the heart,
engraved in
rebellion’s calligraphy,
Cairo.

~Manash Bhattacharjee