Being Close to Lions

Describe a risk you took that you do not regret.

In open safari vehicle

my driver Robert

drives right up on the lions

who have killed and eaten

a water buffalo

of last night’s kill

I can smell the carcass

and hope that they

are too full

to find interest in me

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Being Close to Lions

Honey Love

Too much honey i poured straight from the jar

telling myself it would make things sweeter

how the taste would linger deep in my throat

poison to swallow when my love is far

*

give too much honey myself and I’m weaker

find a balance on this menu of love

sweet and sour are good combinations

let it bind in robust flavor for two

*

My love is greater with the right antidote

not one or the other but a nice mix

all ingredients combined in a bowl

stirred into an harmonious union

*

Too much honey can spoil the batter

love is a complex evolving matter

_________________

NaPoWriMo Day 9 to write a love sonnet

Honey Love

Baobab World

The world is a baobab

teeming with life and water

without water it shrivels

and dies

[Ibu Batuta an Arab explorer in East Africa saw a baobab and recorded it in his 14th century travelogue

botanist Alpino in 1592 ate the fruit while in Egypt and called it Bahobab from the Arabic buhibab which means many-seeded fruit

French explorer Michal Adanson observed a baobab in 1749 on the island of Sor in Senegal recognized the fruit described by Alpino and called it baobab]

Now the singing tree of superstition is alive

and filled with water

holding perhaps 12,000 gallons

replenishes itself in the rainy season

kuokoa

who stops the rain?

bwana anaokoa

Oh singing tree of superstition

bark taking water in

smooth bark

leaves like a vegetable

everything here for survival

pulp of the seed like candy

ciru

beautiful inside and out

qualities that go forward into the ages

living thousands of years

Oh singing tree

withering prophet

speak for the world

tuokoe

save us

Oh singing tree that gives blessings

and curses

in you there is life

__________________

NaPoWriMo Day 8 “Twenty Little Poetry Projects”

Baobab World

Hard Shell

hard shell

reveals a treasure

of many species

off in the distance

a misty presence

waiting to lift

__________________

NaPoWriMo prompt to ask questions based on prescribed words and write a poem from the answers—

What is a quahog?

A hardened shell

What is an oyster?

A holder of treasure

What is seaweed?

A cover for many soecies

What is longing?

A place in the distance

What is elusive?

A misty presence

What is fog?

A curtain waiting to lift

Hard Shell

Safari

I went to Mombasa

I did not see rain

there is drought in Amboseli

elephants are dying

wildebeests zebras Maasai giraffe

🦒🐘🦒🐘🦒🐘🦒🐘🦒🐘🦒🐘

I went to Maasai land

I did not see a bow

only spears and panga

arrows used to kill

when the loins attack

🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆

I went to Maasai Mara

to see the wildlife

thunderstorms on the horizon

got wet in the landrover

viewed a perfect rainbow

🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

_____________

dVerse prompt to use a threesome. My choice is rain, bow and rainbow.

Safari