Is it true, my guide asks, that America views this as a third-world country
That we consider Egypt’s development to be 100 years behind ours
Not wanting to say something sounding like ugly American-ese
I deflect the question and point to a tall white bird with long slim legs
Standing frozen like a statue on the shore
Comment on its majestic beauty in the mist
That bird, he tells me, can you see how that bird is crying
Its tears like jewels slipping lost into the water
Expressing sorrow over the destruction of its habitat
All the new construction encroaching on the shore
All those birds, he says, will disappear soon
As Egypt strives to become a first-world country
I watch the bird disappear behind us
See it slip into the dawn haze
Lanning Lee 