I’m just a bedouin:

I live in a tent –

cozy an’ fair

its fabric woven

from rough goat-hair –

a shady cover

in the summer

a rain-proof shelter

in the winter

my possessions:

a single garment – a tall black robe

that I call a thobe

a pair of worn out sandals

a coffee kit

and other little things

I put in a sack

that may not fit

with countrysiders’ appetites

or urbanites’

my homeland:

all this infinite expanse

of deep beige sands

my sole companion:

a faithful camel

who carries me

and all my stuff

and together we cross the endless desert

and when i sing

some cameleer song

he gets so light

out of delight

and makes as if to fly

towards the sky