East of timbuktu
Hut hut said my guide and the camel rose
Lurching into motion with the others
In that steady plodding gate that camels have
We had passed the red rust hills
The only thing for days that set apart
Dune from dune to dune of duns and grays
Red they were and rust they were
For they had been laid down in an age of iron
Enough iron to have bled away my humanity
You watch your shadow it’s the easy thing to do
It puts your face farthest from the burning sun
Undulating along sand and grit and no hint of wind
We trod on down onto salt white flats
Flat, and white forever and ever and ever
Not even dunes just bits of bits welded into one
White they were and salt they were
For they had been laid down in an age of tears
Enough to have drained away any remaining sorrows
Night is abrupt and with it comes a wind
And camps are made just as quick
And hot tea ekes a little life back in
We are somewhere east of Timbuktu
I have faded, I am bled, I am bleached, I am lost
I have searched for one and lost two
I am somewhere east of Timbuktu
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