If you have never felt the lure of the desert,
you cannot understand why people like me
prefer to be surrounded by sandy dunes.
An inexplicable lure, that acts like a drug.....
Until I was kidnapped by four senile Bedouins.
There was nothing senile about their guns.
Courteously I was led into their tent
built near a small oasis. I was fed, sort of.
And then the entertainment began.
From behind the curtains, someone strummed
a melody of eastern music, eerie and mysterious,
but still unpleasant to my ears.
Two men performed a sword dance.
Then a lovely female dancer took the stage.
In the dim light, the air was smoky with hookahs,
she stood in the middle of the tent,
The music climbed slowly in a crescendo,
her dance matched the rhythm, slow to fast.
I wonder why she did not interest me.
I was more concerned about the weapons
Aimed idly at me. Someone handed me a drink,
like nectar. I drank and drank and drank.
The end came, abruptly.
I woke up groggily,
and was sent to the nearest town.
The senile Bedouin smiled:
"The desert has its beauty, my friend.
But be careful. You can get lost."
Still, the lure of the desert will always beckon.
Categories:
hookahs, addiction,
Form: Free verse
Scented breeze blows, gently still,
Touching, as though, with no will;
Just like our very maiden,
Body and mind shy-laden...!
Moon, in his full pride, rises,
Fills each star with surprises;
Lingering of sun-rays gone,
Dusk sets in celestial-zone...!
Changing her dress each minute,
Sky turns enchantingly cute;
Birds flying back toward nests,
Put flies on their way to tests...!
Grazing animals find sheds,
Kids, cartoons-fixed lie on beds;
Elders with hookahs, gossip,
While kitten behind, milk-sip...!
Women busy as on day,
No schedule to play or pray;
Humans and beasts sleep at night,
Forgetting each day-time fight...!
24 March 2022
Categories:
hookahs, environment, eve, nature,
Form: Jueju