Against the backdrop of bloodshed
and the unconscionable violence in Palestine,
a refugee couple with a newborn baby
follow the dictates of those in charge to move south.
And so they do.

From the Gaza Strip
they escape across the border to Egypt.
From the land promised to Abraham’s children in ancient time,
they move to a country historically associated with brutal bondage and cruelty.

This flight into Egypt is like the exodus in reverse.
Running from sure death
with their infant son’s future at stake,
this weary frightened twosome
trudge toward an unknown destination
with their infant son in tow.

This flight would prove to be anything but smooth.
Turbulence (in the form of terror) would take its toll.
From the little town of Bethlehem in the West Bank of Israel
to the sunbaked banks of the Nile in Egypt,
the young family of three fled sure death.

Trusting only in the God they worship,
they abandoned the security they’ve known
and embraced a hope they could not see.
May their experience be repeated over and over again
by those who flee tyrannical tyrants in search of survival.