The Camel
By Sananda Maitreya
A camel with a dream approaching
heard fast enclosing hooves,
so tip toed through an ampersand
and bottled up his moves and
for a moment had to laugh
then, tossed his bottle into the sea
and became a mute giraffe
§
A camel toed girl was feeding pigeons
while comparing the weight of her current religion
to that of a cardinal sin or whether it is the act
or the guilt thereafter that makes the fossils
buried in our bones do our heads in
her thoughts were staggered lightning with
its thunder slipping
if Achilles could heal,
he wouldn’t be limping
towards what is bound to be tied up and gagged
once the story line has pushed against the rabid
teeth of dogs, the rest of the tale is wagged.
§
I once had a camel coat
but got bored with its humps
I traded it in for a bucket
of bruises but had to keep the bumps
I then shook hands with a grasshopper’s
wrangler, now she limps away
while I jumps!
§
Camels who’ve tasted
caramels become confused
why are these camels
misspelled but sweet
and attach themselves so
to our roofs?
§
Two camels
beneath a breaded tree
ignoring the water
but staring at me
as if I were not
a noun but a verb
one who had limped
to the edge of mirage
after having smoked
far too much herb
§
The same two camels
discussing the planets
after my eyes could
bear the stars no more
for once I didn’t snore
and overheard a heated
discussion which to
the sands percussion
spoke of greater depth
than I knew the animals
bore.
I listen more closely now
when lions and pigeons
roar.
§
Camels
nor the slipperier mammals
like to be around the ‘hood
when the elephants trample
if memory serves the dent
in their back is a sample
of not getting out of the way
in time, when time was ample
§
For a while it was just me and her
and there were times when I
could feel her strength become
my own, her delicate balance
and fearless air an invitation
to feel myself as a man, as gain
as first precept of law
she holds my water so that I bathe
until my own water gushes like she
my camel took me through the basement
arches of hell, and though she stood
mute while the bats attacked
she never let them steal my bell
I yank her gently then we go
my ears undone but more pinned back
I hear clearly now crow say: ‘caw caw’
where once I swore he taunted: ‘flaw flaw’
while the background daisies chanted: ‘ha ha’
§
When
camels fly
through the air it
is usually wise to have your
medication adjusted
§
A camel once told me about a man who took his law-suit
to the cleaners so that it could be clean and pressed by the time
he got to court.
§
A man was once sitting close to a camel and the camel spat in his eye.
The man noisily inquired why a camel would spit in his eye and the camel
out of courtesy explained that it wasn’t good sense to sit too close to a camel
because a camel may spit in your eye. The man after a slight hesitant fog then
saw the circular logic in this and duly fell into a state of ecstasy and rejoicing
and spat back into the camel’s eye to pass the spirit and its blessing on.
§
After a long and vivid sojourn
through an increasingly scratched
and barren sandscape, the camel
looked around at me and after
a huge snort said: ‘ok, enough already’
