To Karisparau, And Back

To Karisaparau, And Back

A team of just three

Set off in the rain

To reach Karisparau

And reach back again.

Stumbled over trees

That fell in their way,

Went up to their knees

In mud, sand and clay,

Treaded carefully on

Moss covered logs,

Marched up the steep hills,

Trudged through the bogs,

Ducked under branches,

Slashed through the vines,

Walked on the big road,

And old narrow lines.

A trio of times

They stopped, as if dead-

A snake for each man

Directly ahead.

One brown, one red,

The black one the longest,

All slithered like spirits,

Melted into the forest.

A bad omen,

The forest people say,

To meet so much evil

All in one day.

But at last they arrived

After hours of sweat.

With sunshine and grasslands

They were warmly met.

With a view to the hills,

Their hammocks were hung,

Their freshly washed clothes

Placed out in the sun.

Before they had departed

They were told to expect

Silence and emptiness which was

Completely correct;

Barely a soul passed by 

For the visitors to meet

In the so-called village centre,

Whilst they rested their tired feet.

Time passed by,

And they could not forget

That their long journey

Was not over yet

(In search of that rarity,

A spot of internet)!

Ninety minutes more

They were on the road,

Behind great green mountains,

The orange sunset glowed.

Crossing the savannah

On a dry, sandy track,

With thirst longing to be quenched

In a creek cool and black.

If it was water they wished for,

Their dreams came full true,

Once at Karisparau airstrip,

In that fateful storm blew.

A deafening roar on the 

Roof of the shop,

Whilst they sat glumly inside

And prayed it would stop.

A pack of sweet biscuits

Was all they would get,

And there was no hope now

Of that internet.

Weary and drained,

They thought of the spot,

Where before it had rained,

They had hung their hammocks.

And when the storm passed,

Into the dark night

The three men dragged

Their feet by torchlight.

Each step was a struggle-

In the soft sand they sank.

They were up to their knees,

In a creek burst its banks...

When a voice in the darkness

Like an angel in the gloom,

Called them to return

And sleep sound in a room.

Perhaps this kindess

Saved those men from the worst-

Whatever apon them,

Those three snakes had cursed,

For not long after,

Raged a second fierce storm,

But by a stranger's sympathy

They were safe, dry and warm.

And when a clear day dawned

There was toast and sweet tea,

Even the internet worked

(For one of the three).

With all the gratitude

They could find,

They paid their hosts

And made up their mind

To stretch their stiff legs,

Move their heavy bones,

Pack up their bags,

And head for their home.

Stumbled over those trees,

That lay in their way,

Tried to avoid

All that mud sand and clay,

Balanced again on those 

Moss-covered logs,

Marched down the steep hills

And trudged through more bogs,

Ducked under branches,

Slashed through the vines,

Walked on the big road

And old narrow lines.

A team of just three,

Arrived home in the rain.

They'd reached Karisparau

And reached back again.