The Sultan’s Tent

Veiled belly dancers gyrated,

delighting patron and guests

gorging on lamb and olives,

rosemary flecks in their teeth.

❧

Feathery fronds spun awhirl

as squirming houris charmed

between swipes at matbucha

or nips of steaming mint tea.

❧

Awaiting sizzling shish taouk,

emirs traded caravan hearsay,

fiercely rivaling one another

with reports of desert ghouls.

❧

Yet within the host’s soul,

a quest for insight stirred,

diverting regal attentions

from tinkling waist belts.

❧

Concerned with obscurities,

he forsook canopied luxury,

envious of unconfined stars,

keen to fathom their secrets.

Brandon Marlon is a writer from Ottawa, Canada. His poetry has been published in various places, including England, Greece, Israel, Singapore, Romania and Ireland.