Trip to Zimbabwe Africa

Africa Trip  click the link to go to Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls and Riding an elephant.

This was on the Way Back machine when I used to contribute to The Lunar Archives.

Zulu Warriors

serenade us and we take great delight
in their a cappella voices--sweet harmonies
long histories of song resonant with
the sounds of Africa and
their barely suppressed wildness.
 

Yet they have hung up their weapons
to dance while they sing
not in the village
but the dining room where we
drink South African wine
and eat--there is more on
my plate than I can ever eat.
 

They sing of lions asleep tonight
but what did these Zulus eat?
And where will they sleep tonight?
Yes I will buy a tape of their songs
to carry home with me...
the very the least I can do.

Riding the Spirit Elephant

Today I rode an elephant--
I always knew I would.
 

The elephant’s name was Emily
and she carried me and a Zimbabwean man
over the grassy plains.
“We treat the elephants with kindness here”
he said, and I could see it was so.
Emily, sweet and playful, stole
 leaves with her trunk
from an elephant near by
and waved her huge leafy ears.
 

Her rolling gait carried us over
a tawny sea of grass; her huge
legs kept a steady dream like pace,
testing the stream bottom we crossed
with her great round feet.