Zebras

Blue sky forms the fortress of their world I can picture them- the ebony and white velvet stripes, the arch of necks, the flint-edged hooves Beneath the weather-regimented trees they gather in the heat- to rest Heat waves and the dreaded grunt of beasts of prey then the hegira, enmasse following the calling of the rain a vital splash of life- they heed the voices of the seasons change- along the hidden pathways of the sun browned plains Suzanne Delaney he•gi•ra also he•ji•ra (hi-ji'r?, hej'?r-?) n. 1. A flight to escape danger. 2. also Hegira The flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D., marking the beginning of the Muslim era. [Medieval Latin, from Arabic hijra, emigration, flight, from hajara, to depart.]