Bob & Moses
Zerihun drove him over the dead-cow hills and Bob’s long hair stood up with shock at what he saw. Every time they stopped, a volley of shepherd boys attacked the Landcruiser with stinging hands and their weightless voices echoed like caves. Bob’s singsong struggled in his mouth, his Ray-Bans narrowed like a bull…finally he thundered his fist onto the dashboard and a row of angels on the skyline hugged their wings so tightly that the golden light was squeezed right out of their chests. They feared Bob’s sympathy had cracked…but Zerihun sat rocking in the driver’s seat, ululating
ልልልልልልልልል!!!
because this man was Moses striking the Red Sea…now the waters would not part but leap up
ልልልልልልልልልልልልልልልልልልing
through the sunroof to soak the bone-dry lips of fields, soak the fine grey sand which is the skin of so many hungry children.
Chris Beckett is a poet and translator who grew up in Ethiopia. He has won the Poetry London competition and been shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award. His collections include Ethiopia Boy and Tenderfoot, also the first anthology of Amharic poetry in English, Songs We Learn from Trees, all from Carcanet.