My Magic Carpet – Part 2

Down Mount Everests snowy flanks
carpet and I made a speedy descent,
Riding the crest of an avalanche
we surfed with excited merriment.

Following rivers through lush foothills
to the home of the Gurkha and Sadhu,
We’ll stay here for a while to explore
the great city of Nepal, Kathmandu.

I’m flying south across India now
looking for the tigers jungle lair,
But in the dappled, leafy shade
to catch sight of him is rare.

Below I see the ruins of palaces,
crumbling, and overgrown by vines,
Inhabited by troops of monkeys
on which a leopard often dines.

An Elephant draped in jewelled silks
raises his trunk to wave at me,
A Maharajah perched upon his back
invites me to his palace for tea.

I will visit a colourful market
to buy fabrics and oriental spices,
Bangles and carved wooden boxes
there is so much here that entices.

Now my tummy is rumbling
woken up by the smell of the spice,
And before I go any further
I’d really love a good curry with rice.

Crossing the vast Indian Ocean
we’ll zip to our next destination,
It is said the great continent of Africa
was the cradle of our civilisation.

On the way we overtook a 707
I gave the pilot a wave and a grin,
Poor fellow fell on his joystick
and the plane went into a spin.

He spiralled down and we followed
until we caught a hold of his tail,
We set him back on his flight path
but it left him looking quite pale.

To be continued…

Jackie S Brooks ©
1 January 2004