TIME HOLDS NO SWAY
The dust is thick,
hanging in the air
with persistent hesitation,
wielding a heavy hand,
it weighs down dry, thirsty brush,
a lazy sun masks the horizon,
using brushstrokes of rusted amber,
nothing moves
except a lone giraffe
on a well-worn path
in no hurry to disturb
this languid space,
time holds no sway over this land,
each dawn cracks open
in anticipation
of another South African day
where the rhythms beat slower,
resonate lower,
hold mysteries closer,
a world apart,
yet a part of the same vast world
we walk.
Photo by Annalies Corbin taken at Kruger National Park, South Africa
See more of Annalies’s photography at: https://annalies-corbin.pixels.com/
and follow her at: @annaliescorbinphotography on Instagram
Just Poetry and Prose 
The words you use to build this imagery are amazing. You are gifted.
Maureen, you are so kind. The photo of the giraffe is so rich with imagery and spoke to me so deeply. I loved writing this poem.
Your words speak for the amazing silent giraffe (who is almost ethereal in his/her colorful beauty). We are all “a part of the same vast world we walk.” A meditative poem flowing through my thoughts forever, enhanced by this graceful animal.
Thank you, Judy. What a gift it would be to see this amazing giraffe in person, as the photographer did. How can there be so many wondrous creatures on one spinning planet?