Insistent Camel
Ends up, I am left with him.
He spits, too.
But neither of us
has much say in the matter.
I pack a block for climbing onto him;
he lifts his chin
and shoulders his jellied reserves.
He’ll need them where we’re going,
me slotted on his back
gripping tight,
gradually learning his irregular
gait and personality.
We traverse hot alien lands
and nearly freeze in the evenings.
I hope he can’t sense
my hungry eye appraising him
for a more daily use
than adventuring.
He doesn’t try to leave me.
I think he wants me there
though he could make it alone.
I can tell of his firmness when I lagged,
I can tell of the strange sights
he was born to. I can tell.
Rachel Piercey won the Newdigate Prize in 2008 and completed her MA in Creative Writing in 2011. An illustrated collection of her love poems, The Flower and the Plough is published by Emma Press.