My first taste of Africa, starting at the tip.

What made us think?

We looked at the world.

We took it all in

In colours and smells and

Thorns in our toes.

 

We smoothed down

The bark, carpeted

The mud, wove over

The stark panic

 

Or stole skin

From creatures better

Equipped for a trip

To this planet.

 

We woke up

Morn after morn and

Wondered what had swung

The orb lights round,

 

Seeming kinned

To the glints in the

Rock; mine it, let it

Wink at its clan.

 

Danger prints

On the track brim with

Odour, boding blood-

For it or us,

 

Suddenly

We revved our heads and

Span a thought sharper

Than a sabre’s tooth.