A CARAVAN OF CAMELS
(a poem for two voices)

 

I am dromedary.

I am bactrian.

one hump

or two

Either will do.

We shuffle our feet
in the drifting sand

in the shimmering heat

of the caravan

Our ride is bumpy

our faces grumpy

We plod

we spit

with leathery lips

Beasts of burden
in days of old

Our cargo
silks   spices   gold

Ships of the desert
on waterless road

Alas
centuries pass

Our steadfast corps

carries kings no more

We sway

we stray

in shifting sand

but never far

from the caravan

our dusty tales
stored in

one hump

or two

I am dromedary.

I am bactrian.

Either will do.