African Accord

So tired of the average streets I drive from day to day,
I thought that I would hug some foreign highways far away.
My headlights beamed, my horn exclaimed, aggressive was my pose;
the country of Namibia in Africa, I chose.

I polished up my grill with Turtle Wax to make the trip;
the passage o’er the ocean on a cargo toting ship.
And I, a Honda, gray Accord—good looking, I am told,
stayed idle while we made the crossing in the ship’s dark hold.

When we arrived I cleared my muffler with exhausted snort;
we harbored in South Africa, and Cape Town was the port.
Then with some hoisting done by crane they lifted me on high,
and finally, upon the land, I tooted my goodbye

and set out for Namibia which was directly north.
I squinted high beams on the way as I proceeded forth.
The large white sign at border’s crossing came in view at last;
I gulped a pint of gasoline and rushed on kinda fast.

As first the land was sorta flat with grasses brownish tan;
and I, in auto arrogance, kept thinking, I’m the man!
When suddenly giraffes appeared like towers from the blue,
I braked myself and parked askance to get a better view.

Excited at the first encounter, I drove on again;
at times the widened highway narrowed to a single lane.
The landscape changed to gentle hills, and forest did appear;
my dashboard sensors told me that some danger could be near.

The daring in me overrode the peril that could be;
I pulled onto a small dirt road beside a fever tree.
Then ‘fore too long I realized what sensors understood,
when agitated chimpanzees appeared upon my hood.

Not worse for ding, I revved my engine as a way to scare;
I also swiped my wipers blades—no longer were chimps there.
Then as I drove the land fantastic ‘neath a clear, blue sky,
I came across a little lake with hippopotami.

Along the side of chasms deep my tires gripped the road;
my gears were grinding and combustion felt like overload.
I witnessed cheetahs chasing prey and elephants en masse;
I noticed pangs of hunger as I knew I needed gas.

I drove the winding roads and drank in vistas far and wide;
the king of beasts looked in my eyes and I beheld the pride.
I ventured back to Cape Town as my driving was complete;
and in the ship I felt secure, like I was easy street.


40 Lines
Writer’s Cramp Co-Winner
11-17-17

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