Touareg’s camel crossed the desert
Just north of Kiffa, Othello’s Mauritanian birth city,
Looking for water
And love.
If he had stopped at the western crossroad
The intersection of middle time and now,
He would have seen a pair of travelers
Who, in earlier days may have seemed unlikely,
Yet who now go unnoticed
And the travelers would have warned him of the great
Civil war in the South
And the need to disguise his being
From those who judge too quickly—
Those who have read Blink and believe
It only takes a moment
To know
And because of this, the camel would have turned and headed
North then East, and found his true love waiting
Patiently at the foothills of the Pyrenees.
Oh, happy travelers, do not hesitate to flag
Down a wayward camel when you see it—it’s
You or no one between bliss and blundering.
Word Play 