Kush

The sky will turn white on the Nile.
This world knows no source, no end.

You will, if you can read this,
Prove with your life you can find

New truths from old things, new facts
Of old things, and you will learn

(Here we make a bold claim—yes,
You will learn, we stake these lines)

Things you do not know yet, while
To learn those truths you must lose

Truths. Facts are not there to add
But to trade, like each next jot

And bit of your life, at last.
Once, dark-skinned kings from the sands

Rose up, ruled the Nile, and built
Their own tombs, each with a point.

Most of the points have worn off,
But that’s not the point. They ruled.

They built in stone, in the dawn,
Rose and gold—worlds, lives. You’re next.