Roman ruins in Palmyra, Syria.‘Death in the Desert’ by Michael Glassman The Society February 23, 2017 Poetry, Terrorism 4 Comments Heat waves frolic along the desert’s endless edge I hear the shuffling of camel’s toes The soft landing of camel dung The smell adding to my woes My knees embedded in sand Awaiting the wrath of the queen of hearts The bald ibis watches from his rocky perch I glimmer a glint of steel through shrouded eyes The camel and ibis are not surprised They’ve seen many times how a man dies Heat waves frolic along the desert’s endless edge Having no power to stop their play On a whim of the wind they hold their place The camel and Ibis are rarely seen Betwixt the sand and the dust devils space The wind has no say as to what happens next When frolicking ends and attention is paid A man with no head leaves them perplexed The camel and ibis are not surprised They’ve seen many times how a man dies Michael Glassman is a 75-year-old retired Social Studies teacher living in Newburgh, N.Y. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. 4 Responses Dona Fox February 23, 2017 I hereby consider myself schooled. I like this so much more than my own poem of a couple days ago on the same subject. You’ve brought in all of the sensory details, even the sand beneath his knees … and nature goes on. Thank you. Reply michael glassman March 2, 2017 morning Dona: I just read your comment about ‘Desert.’ thank you for the compliment. I know we learn from each other. if you like please send me your poem. michael Reply Dona Fox March 4, 2017 Thank you for your reply. My poem was the second of two posted on February 20th. I wouldn’t want you to miss the fabulous picture they found to accompany the first poem. Thank you for looking at it! I’ll appreciate your comments. Of any kind. The Society March 4, 2017 By the way, older poetry can be found by clicking Poetry Archive at the bottom of the homepage. Dona’s poetry can be found here: http://classicalpoets.org/winters-passing-and-other-poetry-by-dona-fox/ Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Dona Fox February 23, 2017 I hereby consider myself schooled. I like this so much more than my own poem of a couple days ago on the same subject. You’ve brought in all of the sensory details, even the sand beneath his knees … and nature goes on. Thank you. Reply
michael glassman March 2, 2017 morning Dona: I just read your comment about ‘Desert.’ thank you for the compliment. I know we learn from each other. if you like please send me your poem. michael Reply
Dona Fox March 4, 2017 Thank you for your reply. My poem was the second of two posted on February 20th. I wouldn’t want you to miss the fabulous picture they found to accompany the first poem. Thank you for looking at it! I’ll appreciate your comments. Of any kind.
The Society March 4, 2017 By the way, older poetry can be found by clicking Poetry Archive at the bottom of the homepage. Dona’s poetry can be found here: http://classicalpoets.org/winters-passing-and-other-poetry-by-dona-fox/
