I don't know what to call this post

so I haven't called it anything

an empty space where there is usually something

I have been watching the events in Egypt

 listening

 to the voices

coming out of a country being torn apart

I have heard the voices on the phones of people caught in the violence

of the sound of gun shots so close they drowned out the voice

watched as they threw gas bombs

and chunks of concrete at each other

I have listened to those who say they know

what is going to happen

what can happen

 what may happen

even what should happen

I have cried as I watch men run over by fire trucks

a man beaten to death in one instance

people burning

because someone got lucky and actually hit a human being with a burning bottle

blood pouring down the faces of people

who have done nothing

but stand up and ask for something better than what they have

I listened

to those who have caused this

the leader

his inner circle

praising him and themselves

for all the good they have done

I heard the not so well veiled threats yesterday and the day before

I have heard things I wish I hadn't

I even cheered when the battles broke out the night before last

and the people in the square were able to gain an inch or two

and push the thugs back

and

I have also seen

the amazing bravery and strength
 of these people who have stopped their lives
 to try so hard

to make a better one

for themselves

 their families

 their country

how many times have we watched

safe and sound in our own homes

as a nation  rises to the top

and cries out for something better

how many times do we watch brutality take hold

and beat them back

as I write this

there are hundreds of thousands of people

standing together in a square

in an ancient country that is on the brink of something

I don't know what

I have also seen that these people can look after themselves

and work together to form  a community that has sustained them for days now

I saw them cleaning up the mess and I saw them re-cycling the rubbish

re-cycling the rubbish

in the chaos

caring for one another when the violence hit

protecting each other as best they could

watch as they build themselves whatever it is they need

a wall to hold back the thugs

medical supplies neatly and tidily stored ready to use when the wounded come in

food brought to the square and rationed out

soldiers included in the hand out

when the stones started flying

individuals quietly and calmly collected stones on pieces of metal or towels

or in their shirts

helping one another carry the stones to the front
yesterday the photo of a man
with a cooking pot on his head tied with red ribbons around his chin
to protect himself from the concrete chunks

they have been reduced to collecting stones to defend themselves

they have been reduced to fashioning shields out of traffic signs

to hold up and fend off the flying bottles of gas

like  medieval knights defending the castle.

They are brave and strong and they deserve our attention and support

as do all the others who dream of days like this

the people in the square are fighting for their lives

and we should pay attention

 today of all the days

I will watch as they march towards their future

 I will hope with all my heart that they all make it through to tomorrow

and when the sun rises again over that ancient country
 that it looks down on an empty square

 empty

 because the people have gone home

to start a new life

inshallah

I just saw a tweet from someone in the square that said

"If you are not in the Square don't feel bad, your heart is here.

 People we feel your hearts and prayers

 we feel you here. "