Fly Emirates, read the perimeter ads
at the World Cup match,
& I try to picture those fabled lands:
what rare seasoning, what iridescent treasure
must glisten on that far shore
like the shoulder of an ox,
rising over the curve
of what we’ll call the earth.
Transparent sails in the harbor.
Travelers rubbing lotion into their palms.
I can already hear the buzz of trumpets
that must herald every entrance
of their emirs.
Dave Bonta (bio) crowd-sources his problems by following his gut, which he shares with 100 trillion of his closest microbial friends — a close-knit, symbiotic community comprising several thousand species of bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. In a similarly collaborative fashion, all of Dave’s writing is available for reuse and creative remix under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. For attribution in printed material, his name (Dave Bonta) will suffice, but for web use, please link back to the original. Contact him for permission to waive the “share alike” provision (e.g. for use in a conventionally copyrighted work).
Dave – how do you keep coming up with these mind-blowing (with blow flies) poems? I know I am in the presence of a wonderful piece of writing when part of me cries out in astonishment and the other part cries out in recognition.
Thanks, Sarah. I still haven’t made up my mind about this poem, but if you like it I must be doing something right.
Oh, it made me laugh and laugh.
That’s good! I’m glad my weird sense of humor isn’t lost on everyone.
Great one, Dave. I will, however never again be able to rub either lotion, (or bug repellent) on my hands without that visual of the little fly rubbing his ‘hands’ together. (grin)
Ah, glad you liked that. I was looking for an image that didn’t reference either prayerfulness or greed, not wanting to give anyone the impression that I was making fun of Arabs or Islam.
I found it entertaining as well.
Cool. Thanks for commenting.
Super enjoyable! Loving your blog.
The world cup sounds totally swarm-y. And I always look at all the advertising during sports–it’s so jarring. Nascar is probably the strangest example for me.
Much as I hate branding and advertising, I have to admit that it’s the only thing that makes NASCAR even faintly watchable. Otherwise it’s just cars going around a track.
Glad you’re enjoying the blog!
This is very cool. I love those transparent sails.
Thanks! Sometimes the most obvious image is the best one, it seems.
Oh I like this. I was slow for a moment, and read it straight, goodness knows why as I have to jump up several times during each match to swat one!
Ah, glad you liked! This World Cup almost made me into a soccer fan, thanks in part to the drone of vuvuzelas.