that Doodlebug,
hired help to navigate the northern hills
for
its hidden ore
and gemstones
could uncover only graves
with artifacts none would ever
adorn
rather, it was our bark and hazel leaf
eyes that uncovered the jewel
beneath the rough, beneath the
greenery
still, the few almonds we bartered
paid in full
for the hackneyed charisma that
only a
Doodlebug
can offer
soon then we found ourselves
in the crosshairs of crossroads,
and
in the grip of a foreign land
but who could worry now
under Hyperion’s providence? and
who
could trouble when
we followed East
His Sun, toward Mecca,
where its divine offerings
absolved us
of all
our doubt