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Ellie Shumaker

Promised Land

Willing slaves, we labored for this day
on trails well overseen by mighty trees,
and felt our muscles sored, our sweat poured out,
in making memory bricks for barren city times;
but now we flee pursued by the pharaoh of the night
and cross a meadow, winter-desert-dried,
into the cloud-arched, bark-shelled path
where ocean-colored juncos part to either side
like waves that sweep into their cedar sea,
and find ourselves brought safe,
but our journey not half done,
with a thousand battles yet to fight and win
before we'll find the land that God has promised.