one day
a man came
to the village
saying that his book
held
the true word
of god
and that
all we knew
was
but myth
bapa dola
asked
does your book
speak
of the desert fox
how its imprints
on the desert sands
spoke of your coming
and
how you would
lie low
beneath the sands
before the day
was done
hearing this
the man ran
from the village
and
bapa dola
smiled
saying
not all true words
are myths
and
not all myths
are true
shoes off
he runs
through the sahara sands
a desert fox
free from the city’s cage
no longer dashing
between motor scooters
and cars
that wind their way through the medina
in this haven
he moves among the tall grass
ears tuned to the sounds of
wind
jackals
and calves
each one moving toward
a common goal
a desert pool
hidden within these dunes
the giver of life
this is his playground
where he belongs
gently caressed by the sand
like his mother’s touch
when he is ill
warm
as when she presses him to her breast
soothing away all fears
and when he returns to the city
the desert’s arms
with fingers of sand
reach for him
as if afraid
to let him go
twenty years ago
the land that we’re standing on
wasn’t a desert
but i don’t bring this up
for any particular reason
not that there’s a problem
and once the desert fox
roamed freely these sand dunes
eating locust and rodents
that could decimate a family’s farm and health
but its fur is just too hard to resist
soft and cuddly as a new born child
so now they say it’s endangered
but don’t get me wrong
i’m not one of those
tree huggers or anything
i was just wondering about it
not that there’s a problem
and for some unknown reason
i was thinking about how one
could build a new hotel on the edge of the sahara
where each room uses enough water
for a family’s small garden
but heaven knows
i don’t want anything to change
my personal comfort
should come first
just a random thought or two
from an old man
who’s got nothing else to do
not that there’s a problem
more than likely it’s just some
hyped-up media story
printed on recycled paper
warm sand on bare feet
like the desert fox he runs
a child free at last
Read Between the Minds 