Old Man of the Mountain

Mysterious walled-in garden on the hillside
Reportedly haunted by Sufi mystics
Heretic hashish dervishes
Twirling far beyond the range
Of our satellite tracking station
High upon another hill

Tall cypresses and cedars
Just visible behind their garden wall
Hinted at ancient beds of roses
And a long reflecting pool
Where the faithful recline and contemplate
The orbits of the sun and stars

I dreamt of going out in brown face
Disguised as a child beggar
Tunneling under the wall
Protecting us from reality
Scaling the wall protecting
Them in their infamy

Divested of my pretense
I’d be immediately arrested
And sentenced to my parents
Once again an American
Visiting this country heedless
Of the traditions I was trampling

Or perhaps I’d have made a friend
Inside those walls who’d one day remember
The courage of the young farangi
Who’d jumped the wall
And come inside just because
He was curious