
I’m fascinated with the camelids
The even toed ungulates, like the camels
Humped mono or duo, dromedary or bactrian.
Dromedary which means “runner”
Can be see pacing in races in Alice Springs
Or carrying kilos of grain in Fez
And the bactrian is found moving idly along poppy fields
Of Afghanistan. And these camels move their feet
One flank at a time, raising and settling
Two limbs together, bearing fat with fiber
Inside a little hump on top which
Breaks down the fat to water and energy.
I look at those sleepy eyes, slapping tongue, chewy lips
That graze for nearly half a day. A dessert ship that floats
On straw-colored dunes, with a sturdy hull
And an oil-rich mast, making journeys
On foot. Nomads breaking the dusty wind,
And the scorching sun. And I look at their
Influence on culture, how they made the
Cigarette, a man’s panache, and their toes,
A part of women’s anatomy, and the three wise men,
Journeymen of the Occident. Wondrous creatures these
Dessert arks are, carrying the cargo of man,
From souks to the majaz, bazaar to home.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Published by Curiosity-driven life (Dilantha Gunawardana)
Dr Dilantha Gunawardana graduated from the University of Melbourne, as a molecular biologist, and moonlights as a poet. He currently serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Botany, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Dilantha lives in a chimeric universe of science and poetry. Dilantha’s poems have been accepted for publication /published in HeartWood Literary Magazine, Canary Literary Magazine, Boston Accent, Forage, Kitaab, Eastlit, American Journal of Poetry, Zingara Poetry Review, The Wagon and Ravens Perch, among others. Dilantha too has two anthologies of poetry, 'Kite Dreams' (2016) and 'Driftwood' (2017), both brought to the readership by Sarasavi Publishers, and is working on his third poetry collection (The Many Constellations of Home). Dilantha’s pet areas of teaching and research, include, Nitrogen Fixation, RNA biology, Phytoremediation, Agricultural Biology, and Bioethics & Biosafety. Dilantha blogs at – https://meandererworld.wordpress.com/ -, where he has nearly 2000 poems.
View all posts by Curiosity-driven life (Dilantha Gunawardana)