Hide and Seek - Part 8 - Rhyming & Non Rhyming Poems by Nikhil Parekh - HTML preview

16. HUNCH BACKED CAMEL 

It bore the acrimonious tyranny of scorching sun round the year; leaving bold footprints in the dust it tread,

Traversed incessantly through blistering soil; with sandy winds blowing across its eyes,

Ambled languidly in the brilliant day; increasing its pace a trifle at the onset of night,

Intermittently munched parrot green tentacles of rustic cactus; immensely relished the dry meal of leaf and thorn,

Occasionally rubbed its slender neck against the sandpaper skin of wild tree; raising its eyes toward the almighty residing in heaven,

Angrily swished the scanty clusters of hair on its tail; to drive away scores of petulant mosquitoes,

Wore a bedraggled rope dangling loose from its neck; a cushioned saddle riveted to its angular sculptured body; Intricate pieces of leather wound to its mouth; to maneuver it through labyrinth of routes,

Possessed a firm pair of hooves; which glistened all the more profoundly in the sunbeams and looked mesmerizing under the placid moon,

Had a slimy nose with gaping nostrils; which remained wet despite the acrid warmth irrevocably prevailing,

Spawned many of its kind; suckling its young ones utterly bereft of a cloistered shade,

Walked marathon distances in a single day; unrelentingly stepping on islands of steaming land,

Stooped down as much as it could; when confronted with tumultuous whirlpools blowing with full might,

Moaned in high pitched exuberance as it sighted a solitary stream; storing the water for months till it found a fresh source,

Gallantly fought an army of disdainful crabs; audaciously kicked loose rocks that came its way,

Seldom shed its tears; overwhelmingly inspiring those who feared life to come out of their nonexistent shells,

Had a passion to bask under the dazzling sun; thoroughly detested crystal blue patches in the sky being obfuscated by clouds,

It had remained as stoical as omnipotent god under the most bizarre of

circumstances; refraining to flounder under the pugnacious heat,

Was quite glad to adopt the sizzling silver sands as its companion for

life;

even dreaming about the same while in deep sleep,

I offer my humble salutations to this silent warrior; as my hunch backed camel carries me through the colossal expanse of the Sahara desert.